Iran clarifies its position on Syria ahead of the trilateral Ankara summit

Tabnak – Turkey’s capital Ankara is hosting the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey to discuss the latest developments in Syria, coordinating their efforts to find a political solution for the Arab country’s complicated conflict. Ahead of the summit, Iranian officials made clear some parts of their approach regarding the issue.

Before departing Tehran for Ankara on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed unauthorized military presence of foreign forces in Syria, calling for an end to such “illegal” intervention. “From our viewpoint, the presence of foreign forces in Syria without authorization of the country's government is illegal and must be stopped,” Rouhani said.

The Iranian president pointed to the ongoing issues in Syria, including ethnic disputes, foreign support for terrorism and the US presence in the country, adding, “The Americans seek to prevent the Syrian government from taking control of all areas and they even think about partitioning the country.”

Rouhani underlined Iran’s position on Syria, including the need for the settlement of the crisis through dialogue, continuation of anti-terrorism campaign until complete eradication of all terrorist groups, and determination of the future of the country by the Syrian people without any foreign intervention.

In the same vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is also on an official visit to Turkey to participate in a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts on the Syrian crisis, said the Astana peace process has been the only successful initiative for war-hit Syria.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Zarif pointed to negotiations held to resolve the protracted crisis in Syria and said in the first place, all should accept that the Syrian problem should be resolved through a political solution, which should be created by the people of the Arab country.

He added that the foreign governments should accelerate the process to reach such a solution, instead of making decisions for the Syrian people or drafting a new constitution for the country.

The top diplomat further pointed to the peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana and Russia’s Sochi initiated by Iran, Russia, and Turkey and said the negotiations have been the only successful initiative since the beginning of the Syrian crisis.

In the process of peace talks for Syria in the Kazakh capital city of Astana, Iran, Russia and Turkey helped set up de-escalation zones across Syria to reduce fighting on the ground.

The talks have featured the Syrian government and representatives of so-called opposition groups. Tehran and Moscow side with Damascus, while Turkey takes part on behalf of the Syrian opposition.

The Ankara summit will be the second such meeting among the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, as guarantors of ceasefire in Syria. Their first meeting on the issue was held in Russia’s resort city of Sochi on November 22 last year.