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Russia, Turkey issue 'Moscow Declaration', say they plan to halt Syrian war

Moscow: Turkish and Russian diplomats on Tuesday declared their intention to halt the civil war in Syria, showing no signs of a rift the day after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated in Ankara in a brazen shooting.

A tripartite conference here, held together with Iran, was hailed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as a way to "overcome the stagnation in efforts on the Syrian settlement". The comment was a dig at the United States, absent from the Moscow meetings despite its own involvement in the Syrian conflict.

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Putin to seek full Syria ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is active in talks to reach a full ceasefire for Syria. Putin made the comments at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Friday.

The three nations issued a statement - which Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu called the "Moscow Declaration" - calling for an expanded cease-fire for which they would act as guarantors.

"Iran, Russia and Turkey are ready to facilitate the drafting of an agreement, which is already being negotiated, between the Syrian government and the opposition, and to become its guarantors," the declaration said. The three countries "have invited all other countries with influence over the situation on the ground to do the same".

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Shoigu said that the participating countries would be able to make a difference in Syria.

"All previous attempts by the United States and its partners to agree on coordinated actions were doomed to failure," he said. "None of them wielded real influence over the situation on the ground."

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are trying to organise a new series of negotiations - without the involvement of the US or the United Nations - in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Relations between Turkey and Russia collapsed in 2015 when Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian fighter jet that had been running sorties in Syria and that Turkish officials say crossed into Turkey's airspace. In response, Russia levied harsh sanctions on Turkish goods and stopped Russian charter flights to resort cities on the Aegean.

But Erdogan pivoted toward Russia following an attempted coup against him in July, snubbing Western countries he accused of a lack of support.

In August, Erdogan visited Putin in Moscow, and the two leaders vowed to revive economic ties and trade.

But Erdogan's move to restore the relationship, after years of rallying his Sunni Muslim base for the cause of the Syrian rebellion, has made many Turks uneasy. Concessions could provoke a backlash from Erdogan's supporters - or some of the millions of Syrian refugees living in the country who have watched support for their uprising wane.

"Russia has been killing innocent people" in Syria, said Muhammad, 27, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo living in Istanbul. "That should not go without punishment."

Washington Post

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