Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalın
A quadrilateral summit on Syria between Turkey, Russia, Germany and France will be held in Istanbul on Oct. 27, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said on Friday.
The meeting, which will be hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will see the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
"The summit will aim to address the Syrian conflict with all its aspects, focusing on the situation on the ground, the Idlib agreement and the political process, and to harmonize joint efforts for finding a lasting solution to the conflict," Kalın said in a statement.
Pro-Assad Shabiha militias and Iran-backed Shiite militias are clashing in Syria’s Aleppo. As a result of the conflict, 85 people were killed and 110 others injured.The Assad regime has not intervened in the fighting. Former spokesman for Free Syrian Army (FSA) faction Jaish al-Mujahideen Zekeriya Mollahafchi described the clashes as an unofficial fight of demographics between Iran and Russia.The FSA controlled 65 percent of Aleppo for five years. Claims emerged that the clashes were a result of the groups being unable to share the areas FSA withdrew from.UN praises changes for the better in SyriaLooting lawAssad has promised the property of the opposition to the foreign fighters, Mollahafchi said.Law No. 10 of 2018, passed by the Syrian government on April 2, 2018, allows the regime to confiscate and redevelop residents’ property without due process or compensation.The law essentially legalized looting and created a major obstacle for displaced residents to return home.The controversial law, however, was rescinded, Jan Egeland, an advisor to Special UN Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday.Egeland said he was informed of the news by Russia, a staunch ally of Bashar Al Assad.In post-Daesh Raqqah, slain locals await proper burialsUN sends 30 trucks of humanitarian aid to Syria's Idlib
Clashes between pro-Assad and Iran-backed militias leave 85 dead
Turkey hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. The country has spent more than $32 billion from its own national resources for helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.
Things are getting better in Syria for the first time in three years, said a top UN diplomat on Thursday. "We have now had five weeks without any attack. I cannot remember such a period for the last three years in Idlib," Jan Egeland, an advisor to Special UN Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura, told reporters at the UN in Geneva.But he also said the terrorist groups of the PKK/YPG and the Bashar al-Assad regime have attacked thousands of civilians in eastern Syria.Underlining his hopes for diplomacy, Egeland expressed his joy to see Turkey and Russia reach agreements.In post-Daesh Raqqah, slain locals await proper burials"The Russian and Turkish sides have indicated that more time will be given to implementing the agreement” reached in Sochi, Russia, for the northern Syrian province of Idlib.“There will be more time for diplomacy," he added. According to Egeland, the UN have 12,000 humanitarian workers in Syria and donors have released aid which was frozen out of fear it would never reach anyone due to a lack of security. "We have now a window of opportunity to help people and that is important before the winter,” he said, adding that a relief convoy with food, health and personal care items will be sent to Rukhban, southeastern Syria. UN sends 30 trucks of humanitarian aid to Syria's IdlibEgeland said there are reports of deaths in the area due to lack of relief supplies. "The last time we reached Rukhban was last January," he added. "7,000 civilians fled the area with little international attention," Egeland said. In the Sochi agreement, Ankara and Moscow signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the “stabilization” of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited. Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area with a view to preventing renewed fighting. Syrians moving out of tent cities in SE Turkey
UN praises changes for the better in Syria