Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Kremlin on Wednesday circulated a proposal to hold a new round of a summit meeting on Syria between Russian, Turkish and Iranian presidents.
The leaders of the three countries met before in trilateral summit meetings, in Russia's Sochi, in Istanbul, and in Tehran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the proposal during a meeting Wednesday with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Ansari.
Turkey and the United States will begin joint patrols in the northern Syrian Manbij area soon after training is completed within the next couple of days, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told state-owned Anadolu news agency on Wednesday.As agreed by the NATO allies in June, Turkish and U.S. forces have been carrying out patrols in Manbij independent of each other, but have been training in preparation to carry out joint patrols.Turkey will not allow Greece to interfere in its activities in the eastern MediterraneanTurkey will take the necessary measures if a decision is taken contrary to its rights and interests in the Aegean Sea, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said."We are in favor of settling matters through peace and negotiations, without it turning into a close conflict in any way," Akar said, speaking at Anadolu Agency’s Editors’ Desk.Turkey says it will not tolerate shift in Greek maritime borderAnkara will not tolerate any Greek fait-accompli in the Eastern Mediterranean, he added.Akar’s remarks came after Turkey summoned Greek Ambassador in Ankara Petros Mavroidis to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.The move came after recent remarks by Nikos Kotzias, who recently resigned as Greek foreign minister.Kotzias has said that Greece was ready to extend its territorial waters from six miles to 12 miles in the Ionian Sea.Turkey will not allow Greece to interfere in its activities in the eastern Mediterranean, Akar remarked, after Ankara said last week a Greek frigate had harassed a Turkish energy exploration ship in the region."Turkey will never allow another harassment to any Turkish ship in Eastern Mediterranean," Akar said.Akar said no project was possible in the eastern Mediterranean without the involvement of Turkey and northern Cyprus.Turkey summons Greek ambassador in Ankara
Turkey-US joint patrols in Syria's Manbij to start soon: DefMin
"The Astana format is the most objective structure for moving forward on all tracks to overcome the Syrian crisis," Lavrov said.
Lavrov was referring to a peace initiative known as the Astana process -- a tripartite effort to secure peace and stability in Syria -- which began in 2017. It was brokered by Turkey, Russia, and Iran.
On Saturday, the leaders of Turkey, Germany, France, and Russia are set to meet in Istanbul in a quadrilateral summit to discuss Syrian refugees and the situation in Idlib.
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.
Russia and the U.S. agreed to expand the coordination in Syria on all issues, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference following his two-day visit to Moscow, he said Syria was a key topic of discussion.Commenting on organizing a demilitarized zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, he said a memorandum between Russia and Turkey is being implemented."As for Idlib, we discussed this topic. I repeated what President Trump said about the need to avoid a humanitarian disaster there.Putin, Erdoğan to hold bilateral meeting in Istanbul"The agreement between Russia, Syria and Turkey is being implemented, although many unresolved issues remain. Idlib is one of the issues in the Syrian conflict," he said.Following a meeting in Sochi last month between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two countries agreed to establish the Idlib demilitarized zone.Ankara and Moscow also signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the “stabilization” of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.Putin, Trump to meet in Paris on Nov. 11Under 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.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.
Russia, US agree to expand coordination in Syria