Iranian, Russian, Turkish Presidents Hold Separate Bilateral Talks in Tehran

In a meeting in the Iranian capital on Friday, Rouhani and Erdogan exchanged views on a range of issues, including the latest regional and international developments as well as ways to boost political and economic relations between Iran and Turkey.

In a separate meeting, Erdogan and Putin discussed a host of topics, including bilateral relations between Moscow and Ankara.

Later, Rouhani attended a bilateral meeting with Putin, discussing various bilateral and regional issues.

The trilateral summit between Rouhani, Erdogan and Putin about the Syrian crisis is planned to open in Tehran on Friday.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi, the summit is not expected to resolve all issues surrounding the prolonged crisis in Syria but it can facilitate more steps to combat terrorism and restore tranquility to the Arab country.

The remarks came as Syrian forces continue to reclaim much of southern parts of the country and are poised to soon launch an offensive in Idlib, one of the last remaining areas outside of Damascus’ control.

In April, the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey - the three guarantor states of de-escalation zones in Syria - held a meeting in Ankara to discuss ways for peaceful settlement of the crisis in Syria.

The three countries have so far held several rounds of peace talks in Kazakhstan’s Astana and elsewhere to help end the conflict in Syria. The fourth round of those talks in May 2017 produced a memorandum of understanding on de-escalation zones in Syria, sharply reducing fighting in the country.

Diplomatic efforts to end fighting in Syria gained momentum in 2017 with the announcement of a ceasefire in the Arab country in early January.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

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