The Tripartite Document on Syria in Tehran is Finalized

On the eve of the tripartite meeting of Russia, Turkey, and Iran regarding Syria, which will be held in Tehran on Friday, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, senior assistant to the foreign minister for special political affairs, announced on Thursday evening that the final statement of this meeting has been finalized. According to Mr. Jaberi Ansari, this document was finalized following discussions held by the delegations of the three countries at the senior representative level in Tehran and will be published as the document of the Tehran summit upon approval by the presidents of the three countries. As the special assistant to the Iranian foreign minister stated, 'This document will cover almost all current issues related to developments in Syria and the efforts made so far in the Astana process and Syrian peace by the three countries of Iran, Russia, and Turkey.' According to this senior official of the Iranian foreign ministry, 'Emphasis on continuing the confrontation with terrorism, the return of refugees, and the necessity of organizing them, as well as the issue of detainees and missing persons from the Syrian war' are among the topics addressed in the final document of the Tehran tripartite meeting. Mr. Jaberi Ansari also mentioned that the document includes the establishment of a 'special committee to address these issues and facilitate exchanges, named the 'Exchange Committee.' As the special assistant to the Iranian foreign minister stated, 'The goal of the Astana process negotiations is to end the Syrian crisis, and as long as this crisis is not completely resolved, these negotiations and tripartite cooperation will continue.' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also described this meeting as 'a joint effort to find a political and sustainable solution to the crisis in Syria within the framework of the Astana summit.' Discussion and exchange of views on the developments and future of Syria, the fight against terrorism in the Middle East, and ultimately the bilateral and tripartite relations of Iran, Russia, and Turkey are topics that will be discussed at the meeting of the three presidents in Tehran on Friday. The Tehran tripartite meeting is the third meeting of the presidents of these three countries. These three officials previously gathered in December 2017 in Sochi, Russia, focusing on peace in Syria. The second meeting was hosted by Ankara on April 4 of this year to assess the latest field developments in Syria and engage in tripartite consultations on international and regional issues. Hossein Jaberi Ansari, who participated in the 'Special News Dialogue' program on Channel Two of IRIB, stated the importance of this tripartite meeting, saying, 'This meeting is taking place at a time when large parts of Syrian territory have been cleared of terrorists and various armed forces, with the presence of terrorists remaining only in the Idlib province of Syria.' The senior assistant to the foreign minister for special political affairs said, 'We seek to ensure that this region is placed under the control and sovereignty of the Syrian government through a solution based on some form of agreement.' The fact that all three participating countries in this meeting have been sanctioned by the United States, and according to Jaberi Ansari, are targets of 'America's unilateral policies,' adds to the significance of the Tehran summit. Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who traveled to Moscow, expressed hope on Thursday that a final agreement regarding Idlib would be reached with the presence of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, at the Tehran summit. On the eve of the summit of the leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey in Tehran regarding Syria, eight European countries warned in a statement on Thursday, September 6, that any military operation in the Idlib region would have 'potentially disastrous humanitarian consequences.' According to United Nations statistics, about three million people, including one million children, live in Idlib and its surrounding areas. Many of them are families of insurgents and civilians who have migrated to Idlib after their residential areas were captured by the Syrian army in the past year.