ANKARA – The Turkish and Russian leaders agreed Thursday to hold atrilateral meeting with Iran on Syria, in Istanbul, Anadolu news agencyquoted a presidential source as saying without declaring an exact date forthe trilateral meeting.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin discussed Syria, particularly Afrinand Idlib, during their phone conversation, said the source who called foranonymity.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had in a phone conversation with hisRussian counterpart Vladimir Putin reiterated his country’s opposition tothe presence of foreign forces in Syria.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to the presence of foreign forceson Syrian territories without the permission of the country’s governmentand nation,” President Rouhani said.
He warned that continued tension in Northern Syria is beneficial to no one,and expressed hope that all the regional states would respect Syria’sterritorial integrity and sovereignty.
President Rouhani also underscored the importance of Tehran-Ankara-Moscowcooperation in fighting against terrorism and returning tranquility andstability to Syria, and said, “Such cooperation is necessary similar to thepast and it should strengthen and continue until the Syrian people’s finalvictory against the terrorists.”