ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2018) Turkey remains committed to the spirit of the Astana agreements, insisting on a peaceful settlement of problems in Syrian Idlib province, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said following the trilateral Russia-Turkey-Iran summit on Syria in Tehran on Friday.
"At today's summit in Tehran, Turkey clearly stated that resorting to methods, which disregard civilian lives, would only play into the hands of terrorists ...The Idlib question must be resolved in line with the spirit of Astana and without giving rise to pain, new tensions or more suffering. Upholding the principles, on which we agreed in Astana, is key to finding a sustainable political solution to the Syrian crisis as well," Erdogan said on Twitter.
The Turkish president also called for resistance against separatist efforts that seek to undermine Syria's territorial integrity and the national security of neighboring countries and urged to "avoid any faits accomplis under the pretext of fighting terrorism."
"If the world turns a blind eye to the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people to further the regime's interests, we will neither watch from the sidelines nor participate in such a game," Erdogan stressed.
On Friday, Russia, Turkey, and Iran held a trilateral meeting in Tehran on the situation in Idlib. Erdogan put out a proposal to declare a ceasefire in Idlib and to stop attacks on this province.
The province of Idlib is mostly controlled by armed opposition and terrorists rather than Syrian government forces. Russian officials have recently warned that there was a possibility of a staged chemical weapons attack in the area, aimed at blaming Damascus and provoking Western countries into retaliating against the Syrian government. On Monday, US President Donald Trump called on the Syrian government as well as Russia and Iran to prevent the Syrian army's possible offensive in Idlib.
