An Iranian-Russian-Turkish summit began in Tehran on Friday to decide the fate of the Syrian province of Idlib, the last bastion of the opposition fighters, which the regime's forces seek to recover by force. The tripartite summit comes just hours before another meeting on the UN Security Council's situation in Syria called for by the United States.
Before the summit, which brings together Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin, Tehran expressed its hope for a settlement on the Syrian city of Idlib during that summit.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said after his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mouloud Gawishoglu that efforts are being exerted on the file of Idlib province to solve the crisis there with minimal losses.
For his part, said Hussein Gabri, Assistant Iranian Foreign Minister on the Syrian file that "preliminary understandings are working on the purpose of restoring the province to the authority of the Syrian regime through a compromise solution."
"Idleb is a dilemma because on the one hand it must be freed from the terrorists' hands, but on the other hand, the security of millions of civilians must be protected," Gabri told Iranian media.
He said the parties meeting in Tehran "will take these perspectives into account to reach a settlement, and Turkey and Iran are mature enough politically to facilitate such a settlement."
On the eve of the summit, eight European Union member states called on Moscow and Tehran to ensure a ceasefire in Idlib province, expressing "deep concern" about any imminent military action in the region.
"We call upon the guarantor countries of the Astana process, which established tension reduction zones in Syria - notably Russia and Iran - to maintain the ceasefire and the arrangements previously agreed upon," the G8 said in a statement similar to a text by the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council. , Including the priority of the protection of civilians ".