Turkish, Russian, Iranian FM’s may meet in Astana over Syria


Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Monday that Turkey, Russia and Iran had discussed a possible meeting of their foreign ministers on Syria, which could be held in Kazakhstan's Astana in March, TASS news agency reported.

Dimitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, also stated Monday that the cooperation between Turkey, Russia and Iran would be beneficial for the steps that are being taken in the U.N. to achieve peace in Syria.

Peskov further expressed that the presidents of the three states are constantly in contact with each other over the issue.

Turkey, Russia and Iran held a series of summits in Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi, aiming to bring together the conflicting parties in Syria, the latest of which was on Jan. 29-30. It was an attempt to bring all warring parties in the Syrian conflict, excluding the terrorist groups, to the table to facilitate the U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.

A proposal to form a constitutional committee was agreed upon on Monday by the representatives from the Syrian regime and the guarantor countries of Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Parties at the two-day summit also said in a final statement that they want to bring an end to the ongoing conflict as soon as possible, and urged international help to that end.

On Feb. 8, Turkish media outlets reported that another meeting is being scheduled between three parties in Istanbul as some kind of a continuation to the Sochi summit. However, the exact date of the meeting is yet to be announced. The meeting is expected to be on Operation Olive Branch and the settlement of the Syrian crisis.