Iranian President Meets Russian, Turkish Counterparts in Ankara
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held separate talks with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about a range of issues, including the latest developments in the Middle East.
In their meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, Rouhani and Putin exchanged views on a host of issues, ranging from the protracted crisis in Syria to ways to cement the ties between Tehran and Moscow.
Also on Wednesday, Rouhani met with Erdogan in the Turkish capital, discussing the latest regional and international developments and the bilateral relations between Tehran and Ankara in all areas.
The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, the three guarantor countries of the de-escalation zones in Syria, will later hold a trilateral summit in Ankara about the Syrian crisis.
As the three countries launched Syria peace talks in Astana, they held a series of summits in Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi to bring together the conflicting parties in Syria.
Within the framework of these efforts, they agreed in Astana to establish de-escalation zones in the Arab country's northern province of Idlib and parts of neighboring Latakia, Hama and Aleppo. Under the Astana agreement, Turkey is to gradually establish 12 observation points from Idlib's north to south to monitor and sustain the current cease-fire agreement for the de-escalation zones, deliver humanitarian aid and ensure the secure return of displaced people.
The leaders of the three countries have been stressing that the de-escalation zones deal has been successful in ending clashes in various locations. However, a countrywide cease-fire to end the armed conflicts has not been achieved so far.
