Turkey, Russia, France and Germany hold Syria talks

[Vikrant]

Why is US not in this talk?

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A four-way summit on Syria has ended with no major breakthrough, even as the leaders of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France agreed that a fragile ceasefire in Idlib should be preserved and said a committee tasked with drafting the war-torn country's new constitution needs to convene by the end of the year.

Saturday's meeting in Istanbul was aimed at laying the groundwork for an eventual peace plan in a country devastated by more than seven years of war.

In a joint communique following their meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for "an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process" and said conditions needed to be created for the safe and voluntary return of refugees.

The summit, which was not attended by any Syrian groups, was the first to bring the four leaders together.

Erdogan said the constitutional committee, which was first agreed upon in January during Russian-sponsored talks at the Black Sea resort of Sochi needed to convene "as soon as possible".

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Leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany hold Syria talks

 

[Stratford57]

BERLIN, October 27. /TASS/. The participants of the four-party summit in Istanbul - Russia, Turkey, Germany and France - are committed to the territorial integrity of Syria, according to a communique released by the German government on Saturday.

The leaders of the four nations "confirmed their commitment to sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic," the document reads.

They are "full of determination to resist separatist plans, aimed at undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as national security of neighboring states."

Besides, the participants of the Istanbul meeting said they were ready to work on creating conditions for the return of refugees and internally displaced persons. This will depend on providing them with "guarantees against armed conflicts, political persecution and unlawful detentions," as well as on rebuilding the country’s infrastructure to make sure that the population has access to water and electricity.

The participants of the meeting are "firmly convinced that this conflict cannot be solved by military means, that it should be settled through negotiations within the political framework and in line with [UN Security Council] Resolution 2254."

The presidents of Russia, France and Turkey "welcomed the progress in the context of withdrawal of heavy weaponry and radical groups" from the province of Idlib, where Moscow and Ankara have previously agreed to set up a buffer zone. In addition, the statement underline the four leaders’ commitment to the fight against terrorism.
Russia, Germany, Turkey, France committed to Syria’s territorial integrity - communique

The fact that the leaders of Germany and France took part in the meeting with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstrates a change in the foreign policy outlook of the European Union’s leading states, Federation Council member Alexei Pushkov said.
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