Today, Tuesday, the Iranian capital (Tehran) will host the tripartite summit of the Astana process in attendance for the first time after the Corona pandemic, where Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and his Turkish counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin will discuss strengthening security in Syria.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian confirmed earlier that the summit seeks to establish the main objective of the Astana Initiative, which is to reduce tension in the areas witnessing battles in Syria, and will also discuss the military operations that Turkey intends to carry out.
He added that one of the objectives of the summit is cooperation between the three countries to enhance security and stability in Syria, and to help displaced Syrians and refugees to return to their lands.
The Iranian foreign minister indicated that the summit will also focus on regional security through a political solution and food security.
Today, Tuesday, Iranian state television said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived in Iran, on his first visit outside the former Soviet Union since the Ukraine war.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (right) receives his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran (Anatolia)
The Iranian President also received his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an official ceremony in the capital, Tehran.
The Iranian president was received by Erdogan upon his arrival at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran.
The official reception ceremony included playing the national anthems of the two countries, greeting the guest president to the guard of honor and then taking pictures, before moving on to bilateral talks.
President Erdoğan is accompanied by Foreign Ministers Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Hulusi Akar, Interior Suleyman Soylu, Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati, Natural Resources and Energy Fatih Donmez, Trade Mehmet Muş, Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, and Youth and Sports Mehmet Muharrem Kasaboglu.
Upcoming operation
Turkey had announced its intention two months ago to launch a military operation in northern Syria in the areas controlled by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose backbone Kurdish fighters are. Syria.
Turkey and Syrian opposition factions have controlled adjacent border areas in the north since 2016.
Ankara stresses that a strong presence of Kurdish fighters on its border with Syria will strengthen the position of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which it classifies as a terrorist organization. …), because the two targeted areas are under its supervision, and Turkey also wants to be able to use the airspace.”
Ulgen notes that Iran is also present in the area of the planned operation "through armed Shiite groups", which prompts Turkey to seek "the green light" from it as well, as he put it.
It is noteworthy that Moscow had expressed its hope that Ankara would "refrain" from launching the attack, while Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned that a similar operation might lead to "destabilizing the security of the region."