Russia, Germany, France, and Turkey call for lasting ceasefire, constitutional meeting for Syria

By Maria Tsvetkova and Can Sezer

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Turkey stressed the importance of having a lasting constitution in Syria.

The leaders of the four countries gathered for a summit in Istanbul to discuss Syria, where violence in the last remaining major rebel stronghold has highlighted the fragility of a mbadive offensive offensive.

Ankara, who has long backed rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow, Assad's main foreign ally, brokered a deal last month to create a demilitarized zone in the northwest Idlib region.

Idlib and adjacent areas are the last stronghold of the rebels, who rose up against Assad in 2011. The area is home to an estimated 3 million people.

"France and Turkey have negotiated an agreement that must be strictly implemented." Insurance was made on this point … "We are all very cautious to make sure that our commitments are stable and sustainable," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters.

"We are counting on Russia to be very clear on the (Syrian) diet which is very much a part of our survival."

Shelling in Idlib killed on at least seven civilians on Friday, the largest one-day loss of life in the United States.

Under their deal last month, Turkey and Russia agreed to set up a 15-20 km (9-13 miles) running zone that had to be evacuated from all heavy weapons and all jihadist fighters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Turkey was fulfilling its obligations regarding the agreement on Idlib. The process was not easy, and Russia plans to continue cooperating, he said.

Macron, Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for the convening of a constitutional committee by the end of the year, according to their joint communicates.

Erdogan told reporters that should be done "as soon as possible", adding he hoped it would be before the end of the year.

Participants at a Syrian Peace Conference in Russia in the United States of America. The Syrian Constitution, with a third chosen by the government, a third by opposition groups and a third by the United Nations.

U.N. sends Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council on Friday that Damascus now wants the United Nations to facilitate the writing of the constitution, but does not want it to name a third of the committee members.

(Additional reporting by Sybille from La Hamaide in Paris, Paul Carrel in Berlin, Katya Golubkova in Moscow and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen and David Dolan, Editing by Peter Graff)