Syria: no "total" agreement for a quadripartite summit according to Erdogan

Text by: RFI Follow

The organization of a summit on Syria bringing together Turkey, Russia, France and Germany is not the subject of a "total" agreement, declared on Tuesday February 25 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, casting doubt on this meeting announced for next week.

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" There is no total agreement " between the French president and the German chancellor on the one hand, and the Russian head of state on the other. This was stated by the Turkish president at a press conference in Ankara.

On February 22, Erdogan announced the holding of a quadripartite summit on Syria on March 5, an initiative aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in the Idleb region, in northwestern Syria, where an offensive by the Damascus regime has caused a humanitarian crisis.

Towards a bilateral meeting with Russia ?

During his press conference, Erdogan said that " in the worst case scenario ", he could have a bilateral meeting with the Russian president on that date.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that " the possibility of a multilateral meeting is being studied ". Before adding that " it is not a question of bilateral contacts " between Putin and Erdogan.

" The decision has not yet been taken since all the potential participants have not given their agreement, " said Dmitri Peskov. He also suggested that a tripartite summit between Russia, Turkey and Iran could be organized instead of a quadripartite meeting.

Since 2017, five summits between Erdogan, whose country supports the Syrian opposition, and the Russian and Iranian presidents, Vladimir Poutine and Hassan Rohani, guarantors of the Damascus regime, have been organized. The last such summit took place in September 2019 in Ankara.

In Idleb, tensions are mounting

Tensions have risen several notches in Idleb since the beginning of February with unprecedented clashes between the Turkish army and the forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime. These battles have also created friction between Ankara and Moscow, which supports the Syrian regime.

President Erdogan has ordered Assad's forces to withdraw from certain areas in Idleb province by the end of February, threatening to use force if not.

Some 900,000 people have fled the fighting in Idleb since the start of the regime's offensive in December which is determined to take this last rebel stronghold, largely controlled by jihadist groups, in Syria.

( with AFP )

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