Iran press/Asia: Referring the second trilateral summit between the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday “We will carry this issue to a positive point with the Tehran summit, which is a continuation of Astana."
Erdogan added that a possible large-scale military action in Idlib would lead to a new wave of refugees toward Turkey.
With the help of Iran, Russia and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, the Syrian army is preparing for the Idlib operation, a strategically-important region which shares a border with Turkey and is also close to the coastal Latakia Province.
Idlib also hosts Turkish-backed militants fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, the countries acting as the guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria, will meet in Tehran on Friday Sep 7 ,2018 for a third summit seeking an end to the crisis gripping the Arab country.
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Meanwhile , the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura begs the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to talk and find a 'soft solution' for Idlib, at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday Sep 5 2018 .
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However despite US and De Mistura's position on the Issue, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in a televised speech on Tuesday Sep 4 ,2018 , that the Astana negotiations have been going on for over two years and Astana talks resumed through active presence of Iran, Turkey and Russia, he said.
Alongside Astana talks, 'we witnessed resumption of Geneva talks' in which western countries failed to invite Iran but the result of such negotiations did not bear fruit, Araqchi was quoted by IRNA.
Geneva talks turned to be a center for those countries leaving destructive role in Syria and they spared no efforts to support terrorists, he said.
Geneva talks was under supervision of the UN, but is now inactive and it is for long time we hear no news about them, Araqchi said.
Presently Syria is experiencing a very sensitive period as terrorists have been uprooted in different parts of Syria through close cooperation countries forming Astana meeting and Syrian government and army and all have sheltered in Idlib city, he said.
Furthermore ,"Mohammad Javad Zarif who arrived in Damascus on Monday Sep 3,2018 had a meeting with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad where they discussed that Western policies of threats and pressure show their failure in achieving the plots they had devised.
President al-Assad and Zarif voiced satisfaction over the level of relations between the two countries in various fields, and agreed to continue consultations and coordination on all levels, particularly in light of the rapidly-shifting regional and international variables.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Adviser Bouthaina Shaaban, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, Syria’s Ambassador in Tehran Adnan Mahmoud, and Director of the Asia Department at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry Shafiq Dayyoub.
From the Iranian side, the meeting was attended by Senior Assistant to the Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, and the Iranian Ambassador in Damascus.
In the same context, Prime Minister Imad Khamis met Zarif and discussed the importance of further enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation in all fields, particularly economic fields.
Discussions touched on the need to involve the public and private sectors in both countries in developing their economies and establishing joint project that realize the interests of both sides.
Minister al-Moallem also met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the accompanying delegation, discussing with them the latest developments in politics and on the ground in light of the victories against terrorism achieved by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies, and in light of the political activity to prepare for the tripartite summit for the guarantors of the Astana process.
Related News : Assad and Zarif name West pressure, threats as policies of failure
Zarif : the priority is to minimize loss of life while expelling terrorists from Syria's Idlib
The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Meanwhile The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Tuesday Sep 4 ,2018 , has stressed that our priority should be to minimize loss of life when expelling terrorists from Syria's Idlib province.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon in the Iranian parliament (Majlis), Zarif said he had some very useful discussions with senior Syrian officials in his recent trip to Damascus. Zarif said the discussions were good vis-a-vis bilateral ties and other issues.
He added: "Since conditions in Idlib province are very sensitive, we must minimize the human cost ( loss of life ) of expelling terrorists from the province."In further remarks, Zarif said "By Friday, God willing, our discussions with nations of the Astana process would be finalized and the expulsion of terrorists from Idlib province should be carried out in a such a way as to cause minimum damage to the Syrian people, and result in minimum loss of life."
Iran, alongside Russia and Turkey, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. The three guarantor states initiated the Astana Process on January 23, 2017, establishing de-escalation zones in an effort to restore calm in the region and improve the humanitarian situation in war-torn Syria.
These diplomatic efforts come as the Syrian army’ is preparing for attacking Idlib , the last stronghold of terrorists in the north.
Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem has warned about terrorists engaging in false-flag chemical attacks in the northwestern province of Idlib, saying militants, with the assistance of British intelligence officers, have smuggled containers of dangerous chemicals into the province to use in false-flag operations.
Regarding possible provocation using chemical weapons, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov also warned West not to play with fire in Syria.
The United States, France and Britain earlier (April 14, 2018) attacked Syria on the pretext of using chemical weapons by Damascus.
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It is worth noting that Idlib province is the last stronghold of terrorists in Syria, and if terrorists are expelled from this province, the war in Syria would be effectively over, and president Bashar al-Assad and his government would have clinched a remarkable victory against US-trained and US-armed terrorists.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions have been driven from their homes since the conflict began in March 2011, and the infrastructure of the country destroyed.
Read More :
Turkey in Talks with Iran, Russia over Syria’s Idlib
Syrian Army attacks terrorists in Idlib, many killed
Zarif: "All of us should strive to minimize human cost of cleansing Idlib province"
