No agreement on a four-way summit on Syria Erdogan admits.
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 26, 2020
- . Update: February 26, 2020 1:54 pm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged, on Tuesday, the absence of a full agreement on holding a “quad” summit on Syria March 5th, which Moscow confirmed on its part when it announced that it was considering holding a summit on Syria.
Erdogan said in a press conference in Ankara on Tuesday: “There is no complete agreement” between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on one hand, and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the other hand, according to what AFP reported.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that he is working towards preparing a summit with Turkey and Iran to discuss the conflict in the Syrian Idlib region, but that he is not preparing for a separate quartet summit in which France, Germany, Turkey and Russia will participate, according to Reuters.
Peskov’s comments came in response to Erdogan’s statements, stressing that there are no discussions for a summit with France and Germany, and that Russia is currently looking to only hold a summit on Idlib with Iran and Turkey only.
And while Erdogan, whose country supports the Syrian opposition factions, said that “in the worst case” he could hold a bilateral meeting with the Russian president on the same date, Peskov said there are currently no discussions about a possible meeting between the two leaders.
On Saturday, Erdogan announced the holding of a four-way summit on Syria, in an initiative aimed at find a solution to the crisis in the Idlib region in northwestern Syria.
However, Peskov said that “the possibility (of holding) a multilateral meeting is being studied … and it is not related to bilateral contacts” between Putin and Erdogan, adding that “the decision has not been taken since all the potential participants have not yet given their consent.”
He alluded to the possibility of a tripartite summit whch brings together the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran, instead of a four-way summit.
However, Peskov said that “the possibility (of holding) a multilateral meeting is being studied … and it is not related to bilateral contacts” between Putin and Erdogan, adding that “the decision has not been taken since all the potential participants have not yet given their consent.”
He alluded to the possibility of a tripartite summit whch brings together the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran, instead of a four-way summit.
