MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and their Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, are scheduled to hold a trilateral virtual summit on Wednesday in their capacity as guarantors of peace process in Syria under the Astana agreements.
The summit was initially scheduled to be held in Tehran in March, but ended up postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will still be hosted by Iran and be held in a video conference format, due to begin at 11:00 GMT.
The presidents are expected to issue a joint statement following the summit.
Talks are expected to be focused on exchange of opinions about ways to achieve and enhance sustainable peace in Syria.
On the heels of recent talks between the three countries' foreign ministers in April and in light of the latest developments in Syria, there are three issue areas to likely be the focus of attention, namely the ongoing escalation in Idlib, the repatriation of Syrian refugees and the upcoming session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.
The joint Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of ceasefire in Syria has repeatedly reported violations of truce in the Idlib province. The flow of Syrian refugees has significantly decreased from neighboring Lebanon and stopped completely from Jordan amid the pandemic.
The Syrian Constitutional Committee is scheduled to meet in Switzerland's Geneva in late August. It was formed last October following rounds upon rounds of mediation by the United Nations and other international intermediaries.
The 150-member committee brings together an equal representation of the government, opposition and civil society�to draft a new constitution for Syria as part of the comprehensive UN-backed peace process. So far, the committee has not progressed far in its endeavors.
In January of 2017, Russia, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement during talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana, hence the deal's name, to join forces in ensuring the implementation of the 2015 UN Security Council Resolution 2254 that called upon warring parties in Syria to cease fire and engage in political settlement. This format is complementary to the UN-backed talks in Geneva.
The Astana troika has since held five summits, with the latest one held in the Turkish capital of Ankara last September.
