The final statement of the Tehran tripartite summit issued by the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia
The final statement of the Tehran summit, which brought together Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi with his Turkish counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin, affirmed the commitment of the participating countries to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria.
The summit concluded its work on Tuesday evening in the Iranian capital, and discussed the Astana track on Syria, in addition to a number of issues, foremost of which are the developments of the Iranian nuclear file and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The final statement of the summit condemned “the increasing presence and activities of terrorist organizations and their affiliates in various regions of Syria,” expressing the determination of the three countries – Iran, Russia and Turkey – to continue fighting terrorism in all its forms.
The three countries also expressed their rejection of all attempts to create new facts on Syrian soil under the pretext of combating terrorism, “including illegal self-government initiatives, and their determination to stand in the face of separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, in addition to threatening the national security of neighboring countries.”
The statement stressed the need to maintain calm through the implementation of all agreements related to Idlib, calling on the international community to assume more responsibility in sharing the burdens of housing Syrian refugees wishing to return to their country.
The positions of the three countries
The Iranian president stressed the cooperation of the countries of the region to help Syria in order to consolidate its sovereignty and ensure security in the region, stressing the need for there to be no steps that conflict with Syrian sovereignty.
Raisi said that the summit stressed the need to provide the ground for the immediate return of Syrian refugees from other countries.
As for President Erdogan, he called on international parties to provide assistance to Turkey that would allow it to shoulder the humanitarian burden, stressing the need to work for the honorable return of Syrian refugees to their lands and to ensure that they are not endangered.
He said that the summit stressed the importance of ending the Syrian crisis through sustainable solutions, and setting up a working mechanism to draft a new constitution for the Syrian state, adding that “the opposition and the regime should start a dialogue on that.”
For his part, President Putin said that the summit discussed the situation in Syria, and stressed the importance of combating any separatist movement, and the need for all regions to return to Syria’s sovereignty.
“We discussed the need to establish a framework that would allow the start of a political dialogue between the Syrian state, the opposition and the people,” he said, stressing the three countries’ agreement to hold meetings on the Syrian crisis, with experts from countries in the region and the United Nations joining them.
Addressing Raisi and Putin, Erdogan stressed that “it should be clear to everyone that there is no place in the region for separatist terrorist movements and their followers. We will soon continue our fight against terrorist organizations.”
