November 22, 2017•Update: November 23, 2017
By Diyar Guldogan
SOCHI, Russia
The current summit between Turkey, Russia, and Iran is critical for bringing the tragedy in Syria to an end, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
"This trilateral summit is highly important for completely ending the bloodshed and tragedy that has been happening in Syria," Erdogan said.
His remarks came before a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
"The world has witnessed the positive results of establishing a close working environment between Turkey, Russia, and Iran on the Syrian issue," he said.
The talks in Astana, Kazakhstan are the "best example" of this, the Turkish leader added.
He said he believed Turkey, Russia, and Iran will take “critical” decisions on Syria in Sochi.
Erdogan said the concerned parties need to work to establish a lasting political solution that the Syrian people can accept.
Turkey and Russia, together with Iran, are the guarantor countries that brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016, leading to the Astana talks, which are running parallel to the Geneva talks for peace in Syria.
