Russia to Host Trilateral Summit Early 2019

EghtesadOnline: Moscow will early next year host the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey for discussions on the Syrian conflict, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said on Friday, after the United States announced it was withdrawing troops from the country.

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29 December 2018

“It’s our turn to host the summit ... around the first week of the year. This will depend on the schedules of the presidents,” Mikhail Bogdanov was cited as saying by Interfax news agency.

The meeting will be the latest step in the Astana peace process—set up in early 2017 by Russia and Iran, which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, and opposition backer Turkey.

The Astana process was launched after Russia’s military intervention in Syria tipped the balance in the Damascus government’s favor. It has gradually eclipsed an earlier UN-sponsored negotiations framework known as the Geneva process, according to Financial Tribune.

The last meeting between Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan took place in Iran in September with the fate of the rebel-held Idlib Province dominating the agenda.

US President Donald Trump in a shock announcement said recently he was pulling out the total number of 2,000 American soldiers from Syria, arguing that the self-styled Islamic State terror group has been defeated.