New Talks Between Iran, Russia, and Turkey on the Syrian Crisis

Officials from three regional countries that have been negotiating the Syrian crisis are set to meet again. New talks between Iran, Russia, and Turkey will be held on August 30 and 31 in Sochi. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that representatives from the three countries will discuss issues related to the formation of the 'Constitutional Committee' for Syria, de-escalation zones, and 'humanitarian issues.' The Iranian state news agency, IRNA, reports that Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister will meet with his Turkish and Russian counterparts; IRNA also states that two delegations from the Syrian government and its opponents, Stefan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and a 'monitor' from Jordan will also be present in Sochi. The Russian state news agency, TASS, confirmed the presence of de Mistura and the Jordanian monitor, adding that the United States has decided not to send a representative to these talks. TASS states that the Russian delegation will be led by Alexander Lavrentiev, the Kremlin's Special Representative for Syria, with Hossein Ansari and Sedat Onal representing Iran and Turkey, respectively. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, stating that the Sochi talks will focus on 'ceasefire, the start of the constitutional commission's work, holding elections [in Syria], and reviving the political process.' The three countries' negotiations on Syria come as another set of talks aimed at ending the civil war and starting a political process is taking place under the leadership of the United Nations in Geneva. Turkey also announced on Sunday that it intends to hold talks with Germany, France, and Russia in early September, a month from now. Ankara has stated without providing specific details that these talks will address the Syrian crisis and other regional issues. Russia and Iran are the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey supports a number of Assad's opponents. The West has criticized Iran and Russia's actions in Syria. Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated on July 25 during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting that Iran is currently facing a significant economic challenge due to its costly support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiites in Iraq, the Syrian government, and its activities in Yemen. Tehran denies interference in the affairs of regional countries and, like Moscow, claims it has intervened at the request of the central government in Damascus. Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reacted to comments by General Votel, who currently does not recommend cooperation with Russia in Syria, stating that these remarks 'discredit Trump's official position.' General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and North Africa, emphasized in an interview with ABC News at the end of July that potential cooperation with Russia 'is a very tall order at this time' and he prefers to first see 'confidence-building' from Moscow.