Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Iranian and Turkish counterparts in the southern city of Sochi, where they had “constructive and business-like” talks regarding Syria on Thursday. And in the joint press conference, Mr Putin said Washington’s decision of recalling the 2,000 US soldiers currently in northeastern Syria was “a positive step that would help stabilise the situation in this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control”. But, he added, he hasn’t seen so far any movement in Syria signalling Mr Trump’s promises will be fulfilled.
The press conference was followed by a series of pictures to mark the talks, where the leaders were portrayed shacking hands and gloating.
Mr Putin, who is Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad’s closest ally, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, are now the major players in the country, torn by eight years of war which between 2011 and 2016 had already killed more than 400,000 people, according to the United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria.
The meeting led to “strengthened cooperation” in the Astana framework, a process initiated by the three countries in 2017 to support the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 demanding a ceasefire in Syria.
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They also agreed to work to create a constitutional committee that would work to resolve Syria’s political future, Mr Putin explained.
The withdrawal of the American troops will have a major impact on Turkey, which will now be free to face Kurdish-led forces fighting in the northern part of Syria.
Turkey believes the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its political branch, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), are offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which have been demanding for decades Kurdistan to become independent from Ankara.
The YPG is currently fighting the remaining pockets of ISIS resistance in the small town of Baghouz in eastern Syria and has occupied the city of Manbij after taking it from jihadists.
Now Mr Erdogan, the only leader at the meeting not backing Mr Assad but the rebel forces in Syria, is calling for the removal of the Kurdish forces.
He said: “Syria’s territorial integrity cannot be ensured and that region cannot be returned to its real owners before PYD-YPG is cleared from Manbij and the east of Euphrates.”
Iran’s leader Mr Rouhani called for a “purge of terrorists” from the rebel-held territories in the province of Idlib, one of the last areas still controlled by the so-called caliphate.
And he expressed doubts over the sincerity of the pledge made by Mr Trump in December.
Mr Rouhani said: “We have no optimism about what the Americans say but if they do withdraw, it will be very good news.”
The Iranian leader also dismissed the ongoing talks over security in the Middle East at a conference in Warsaw, attended by both the US and Israel.
Mr Rouhani said: “We see what’s happening in Warsaw, it’s an empty result, nothing.”