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Iranian, Russian and Turkish Presidents Focus on Unity in Efforts to End
Syrian War

Dorian Jones

   ISTANBUL - The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Ankara
   Monday in the latest trilateral summit to resolve the Syrian civil war.

   Launched in 2017 in the capital of Kazakhstan and known as the Astana
   peace process, summit leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hassan Rouhani and
   Vladimir Putin focused on cooperation, despite profound differences on
   the future of Idlib, the last enclave of Syrian rebels.

   "We are in complete agreement in aiming for a lasting political
   solution for Syria's political unity and territorial integrity,"
   Erdogan said, setting the tone for the one-day gathering.

   Erdogan reaffirmed his commitment to target Syria's Kurdish militia,
   the YPG.

   "We will drain the terrorist swamp east of the Euphrates (in Syria) and
   carry our efforts in the fight against terrorism to another level," he
   said.

   Ankara designates the YPG as terrorists linked to a Kurdish insurgency
   inside Turkey. The YPG is a crucial ally in Washington's war against
   Islamic State.

   Last month, Turkish and U.S. generals hammered out an agreement to
   jointly create a buffer zone in Syria to protect Turkey's frontier from
   the YPG. Analysts say many details remain unresolved between the two
   NATO allies.

   Erdogan, flanked by Rouhani and Putin, reiterated his threat to
   unilaterally act against the U.S.-backed militia by the end of the
   month if a buffer zone has not been created.

   Rouhani attacked America's presence in Syria.

   "(President Donald) Trump said last year that U.S. troops will pull out
   of Syria, but the outcome of this promise has been like his other
   promise -- a lie," Rouhani said. "It is essential that U.S. troops
   leave the region at once, and the Syrian government establishes
   sovereignty in the East, north of (the) Euphrates."

   Putin backed a Turkish intervention, saying any country has the right
   to protect its border. But with the condition, any response has to end
   once the threat is removed, he said, reiterating Syria's sovereignty.

   Analysts sayRouhani, Erdogan and Putin suspect that Washington secretly
   harbors plans to create an independent, or at least autonomous, Kurdish
   state.

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