[ad_1]
Will a four-person summit ease the conflict in Syria? On the invitation of Erdogan Merkel, Macron and Putin will visit Istanbul next week. One of the topics is the location in Idlib.
New attempt in the Syrian conflict: at the initiative of Turkey, Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin travel to Istanbul for a summit on 27 October. They follow the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The summit will focus on the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib and on the peace process in Syria, said the participating states.
Fear of mass theft
For Idlib province, which is mainly controlled by Islamist rebels, Turkey wants to avoid a Syrian military offensive, but many other countries fear bloody fighting and mass evasion, if that is the case. produced. Turkish soldiers are currently monitoring a ceasefire.
In mid-September, Putin and Erdogan reached an agreement in Sochi, in southern Russia, to avoid an imminent offensive on Idlib. In particular, it provides for the creation of a "demilitarized zone" around rebel areas. Until Monday, the rebels and jihadists have withdrawn their heavy weapons from the region, but it is questionable whether the ceasefire lasts longer.
It is the first summit on Syria in this format. Recently, Turkey has sought to negotiate with Russia and Iran. Erdogan had announced the summit four weeks ago, but he did not come because of scheduling issues.
UN formats up to now without success
Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011, various diplomatic initiatives have been taken to achieve a ceasefire and a political solution to the conflict. The most important format is between the government and the United Nations opposition in Geneva, but the talks have not made much progress in recent years.
UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura announced on Wednesday that he would leave his post "for personal reasons" at the end of November. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is looking for a successor.
Source link
