ANKARA/MOSCOW: Russia, Iran and Turkey said they were ready to help broker a Syrian peace deal after the three countries held talks in Moscow and adopted a declaration, which set out the principles any agreement should adhere to.
The move underlines the growing strength of Moscow’s links with Tehran and Ankara, despite the murder on Monday of Russia's envoy to Turkey Andrey Karlov.
Following Monday’s assassination, a Russian delegation, comprising a prosecutor, two defense attaches, security officials, autopsy experts and officials from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to investigate the crime.
The three countries made the announcement about Syria after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held parallel talks with his Iranian and Turkish opposite numbers.
Lavrov said all three countries agreed the priority was to fight terrorism rather than to remove the Syrian regime led by Bashar Assad.
The declaration said any Syria settlement should respect the country's territorial integrity.
The document, which Shoigu called the “Moscow Declaration,” said the trio was confident it would revive the moribund peace process. It also backed an expanded cease-fire.
“Iran, Russia and Turkey are ready to facilitate the drafting of an agreement, which is already being negotiated, between the Syrian government and the opposition, and to become its guarantors,” the declaration said.
“They (Iran, Russia and Turkey) have invited all other countries with influence over the situation on the ground to do the same (help get a deal),” it said.
It also shows how fed up Russia is with what it sees as long and pointless talks with the Obama administration over Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week dismissed those talks as “fruitless sitting around.”
“All previous attempts by the US and its partners to agree on coordinated actions were doomed to failure,” Shoigu said. “None of them wielded real influence over the situation on the ground.”
The ministers met the day after the Russian envoy’s assassination by a gunman shouting about Syria and Aleppo.
Pointedly absent from the discussion was the United States and Lavrov took a swipe at Washington by claiming that it had been unable to make good on previous deals reached in Syria.
The Red Cross on Tuesday said that at least 25,000 people have left the eastern districts of Aleppo since evacuations began last week, and Lavrov said the process should be completed in two days at most.
“Right now the evacuation is wrapping up,” he said. “We hope that this is a question of one or a maximum of two days.”
Regarding Ambassador Karlov’s murder, Turkish government circles are accusing the Gulen movement of perpetrating the attack, as the assailant Melvut Mert Altintas graduated from a Gulenist prep school in the western city of Aydin, while his uncle was a high-profile manager in a Gulen-linked private school.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu blamed the Gulenist group for the assassination, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
In an interview with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Cavusoglu said “Turkey and Russia know that behind the attack... there is FETO,” it said, referring to Turkey’s acronym for Gulen’s organization.
Turkey and the US have been at odds since the July 15 failed coup attempt, as the US still refuses to extradite cleric Fethullah Gulen, believed to be the mastermind of the coup attempt. The mother, father, sister and two other relatives of Altintas were immediately held for questioning. Some people say Altintas may be a radicalized lone wolf.
Turkish authorities held a ceremony at Ankara Esenboga Airport to bid farewell to Karlov, who is to be buried in Russia.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called for a thorough investigation.
“With the normalization of Turkish-Russian relations, we can see that this was a direct attack on the peace process that started, especially in Syria and the steps taken to improve the situation there,” he said.
The street where the Russian Embassy is located will be renamed Karlov Street.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Cavusoglu in Moscow, and laid flowers at a portrait of the ambassador. The ministers underlined their determination to fight terrorists.
Turkey’s Defense Minister Fikri Isik met with his Russian counterpart Shoigu and said the attack aimed to undermine bilateral cooperation, especially regarding the evacuation of civilians from Aleppo.
The EU released a statement saying: “An attack against a member of the diplomatic community is an attack against all of us. It is also an attack against the principles and fundamental customs of the international community, and of the civilized relationship among nations.”
The EU expressed its “strong commitment to standing by the side of Turkey and their people in their fight against terror.”
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul and Adana were closed Tuesday as a security measure after a man fired a gun outside the embassy.
Akin Unver, international relations scholar at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, said the assassination is unlikely to damage bilateral relations.
“If anything, it will increase intelligence and security partnership between the two countries,” Unver told Arab News.
However, he added that the incident harms Ankara’s ability to diplomatically pressure Russia regarding the Aleppo evacuation and Iran’s role in a post-war Syria. — with inputs from Reuters, AFP
The move underlines the growing strength of Moscow’s links with Tehran and Ankara, despite the murder on Monday of Russia's envoy to Turkey Andrey Karlov.
Following Monday’s assassination, a Russian delegation, comprising a prosecutor, two defense attaches, security officials, autopsy experts and officials from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to investigate the crime.
The three countries made the announcement about Syria after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held parallel talks with his Iranian and Turkish opposite numbers.
Lavrov said all three countries agreed the priority was to fight terrorism rather than to remove the Syrian regime led by Bashar Assad.
The declaration said any Syria settlement should respect the country's territorial integrity.
The document, which Shoigu called the “Moscow Declaration,” said the trio was confident it would revive the moribund peace process. It also backed an expanded cease-fire.
“Iran, Russia and Turkey are ready to facilitate the drafting of an agreement, which is already being negotiated, between the Syrian government and the opposition, and to become its guarantors,” the declaration said.
“They (Iran, Russia and Turkey) have invited all other countries with influence over the situation on the ground to do the same (help get a deal),” it said.
It also shows how fed up Russia is with what it sees as long and pointless talks with the Obama administration over Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week dismissed those talks as “fruitless sitting around.”
“All previous attempts by the US and its partners to agree on coordinated actions were doomed to failure,” Shoigu said. “None of them wielded real influence over the situation on the ground.”
The ministers met the day after the Russian envoy’s assassination by a gunman shouting about Syria and Aleppo.
Pointedly absent from the discussion was the United States and Lavrov took a swipe at Washington by claiming that it had been unable to make good on previous deals reached in Syria.
The Red Cross on Tuesday said that at least 25,000 people have left the eastern districts of Aleppo since evacuations began last week, and Lavrov said the process should be completed in two days at most.
“Right now the evacuation is wrapping up,” he said. “We hope that this is a question of one or a maximum of two days.”
Regarding Ambassador Karlov’s murder, Turkish government circles are accusing the Gulen movement of perpetrating the attack, as the assailant Melvut Mert Altintas graduated from a Gulenist prep school in the western city of Aydin, while his uncle was a high-profile manager in a Gulen-linked private school.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu blamed the Gulenist group for the assassination, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
In an interview with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Cavusoglu said “Turkey and Russia know that behind the attack... there is FETO,” it said, referring to Turkey’s acronym for Gulen’s organization.
Turkey and the US have been at odds since the July 15 failed coup attempt, as the US still refuses to extradite cleric Fethullah Gulen, believed to be the mastermind of the coup attempt. The mother, father, sister and two other relatives of Altintas were immediately held for questioning. Some people say Altintas may be a radicalized lone wolf.
Turkish authorities held a ceremony at Ankara Esenboga Airport to bid farewell to Karlov, who is to be buried in Russia.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called for a thorough investigation.
“With the normalization of Turkish-Russian relations, we can see that this was a direct attack on the peace process that started, especially in Syria and the steps taken to improve the situation there,” he said.
The street where the Russian Embassy is located will be renamed Karlov Street.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Cavusoglu in Moscow, and laid flowers at a portrait of the ambassador. The ministers underlined their determination to fight terrorists.
Turkey’s Defense Minister Fikri Isik met with his Russian counterpart Shoigu and said the attack aimed to undermine bilateral cooperation, especially regarding the evacuation of civilians from Aleppo.
The EU released a statement saying: “An attack against a member of the diplomatic community is an attack against all of us. It is also an attack against the principles and fundamental customs of the international community, and of the civilized relationship among nations.”
The EU expressed its “strong commitment to standing by the side of Turkey and their people in their fight against terror.”
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul and Adana were closed Tuesday as a security measure after a man fired a gun outside the embassy.
Akin Unver, international relations scholar at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, said the assassination is unlikely to damage bilateral relations.
“If anything, it will increase intelligence and security partnership between the two countries,” Unver told Arab News.
However, he added that the incident harms Ankara’s ability to diplomatically pressure Russia regarding the Aleppo evacuation and Iran’s role in a post-war Syria. — with inputs from Reuters, AFP
