Russia, Iran and Turkey reaffirm their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a joint statement by the representatives of the three countries released after the 16th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format on Thursday, TASS reports.
“Reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and highlighted that these principles should be universally respected and complied with,” the document reads.
Russia, Turkey, and Iran also highlighted the need for the full implementation of all the agreements on Syria’s Idlib, the document says. “Reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area, and highlighted the necessity to maintain calm on the ground by fully implementing all agreements on Idlib,” the statement reads.
The guarantor states of the Astana format of talks have called on Israel to stop military attacks in Syria. “Condemned continuing Israeli military attacks in Syria which violate the international law, international humanitarian law, the sovereignty of Syria and neighboring countries, endanger the stability and security in the region, and called for cessation of them,” the document said.
The sides also voiced confidence that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict. They “expressed their conviction that there could be no military solution to the Syrian conflict, and reaffirmed their commitment to advance viable and lasting Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” according to the statement.
