Dialogue Between the Foreign Ministers of Iran, Russia, and Turkey Regarding the Syrian Crisis

Russia announced that Sergey Lavrov, the country's foreign minister, had a phone conversation on Saturday, December 17, with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts regarding developments in Syria. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the conversation focused on 'the recapture of Eastern Aleppo and the evacuation of civilians from the city, as well as responsibilities related to facilitating conditions for civilians in other areas of Syria.' Based on a report from the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, the foreign ministers of the three countries agreed to hold their trilateral meeting, originally scheduled for January 7, earlier, and thus this meeting will take place on December 21 in Moscow. The recent agreement on a ceasefire in Aleppo was reached following negotiations between Russia, a supporter of Bashar al-Assad's government, and Turkey, a supporter of the rebels. Iran, as one of Damascus's main allies, has also had extensive negotiations with Turkey in recent days, with reports indicating that on Friday, the foreign ministers of the two countries had 13 phone conversations in one day. Iranian news agencies also reported on Friday about a phone conversation between the defense ministers of Iran and Russia regarding events in Syria. ISNA quoted the Iranian Defense Ministry stating that on Friday evening, Sergey Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, discussed the latest developments in Syria after the recapture of Aleppo in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Dehghan. The report states that both sides emphasized the 'urgent lifting of the siege of the cities of Fua and Kafraya.' The Shiite-populated cities of Fua and Kafraya are under siege by Syrian rebels. Syrian rebels claim that the Assad government and Iran have stipulated that the evacuation of Aleppo will only be allowed once the siege of Fua and Kafraya is broken. However, Iran has denied placing such a condition.