Presidents of Iran, Russia, Turkey hold Syria talks in Sochi

The Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents held a trilateral meeting on the Syria crisis in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The Wednesday talks between Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan come as Iran, Russia and Turkey are acting as the guarantors of a ceasefire that took effect in Syria late last year.

Rouhani lauded the defeat of the Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria, but underlined the need for continued battle against terrorism until the eradication of all Takfiri terrorist outfits in Syria.

He blamed foreign interference for the conflict in Syria, saying certain countries claiming to be advocates of democracy wrecked havoc in the Arab country to achieve their goals in the region.

“If regional nations and countries are to learn a lesson from the fabricated crisis in Syria today, it is that they should know certain powers claiming to advocate democracy and human rights spare no effort like using terrorism and violence to achieve their short-sighted objectives in the region,: Rouhani said.

“The lesion that these powers have not learned is that repercussions of terrorism and extremism will not be confined to a region other parts of the world will not be safe from the ominous phenomena,” he added.

He said that after the defeat of Daesh, the sponsors of terrorism were now seeking to create tensions and cast doubt on efforts by certain regional countries, including Iran, and resistance fighters aimed at restoring stability to the region.

The Iranian president expressed regret that that certain countries followed the US and Israel’s suit in creating rifts and division among regional nations, noting such countries are accountable for their malicious policies of fomenting ethnic and religious rifts.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani stressed that Iran pursued an approach based on cooperation, not competition, coordination not confrontation, peace not warmongering and respecting the will of nations rather than following foreign powers.

He said that no foreign intervention was acceptable in Syria, adding that any foreign military presence in the Arab country may only be acceptable if it is by the invitation of the Damascus government.

The role of the international community in the future of Syria should be to contribute to efforts to restore stability, alleviate the sufferings of people and reconstruct the country without any political motive.

Speaking alongside Putin and Rouhani, Erdogan pointed to preliminary meetings prior to the Sochi tripartite summit, saying the consolidations yielded positive and tangible results, but stressed that more efforts were needed to find an effective solution.

The Turkish leader said it was vital for all parties to contribute to a political solution in the Syrian crisis that would be acceptable for the Syrian people.

Source:payvand.com