Russia, Turkey, Iran Agree on Returning Syria to Syrians
SOCHI (Dispatches) -- As Trump administration officials presided over the second day of a conference in Warsaw dominated by calls to ratchet up pressure on Iran, one longtime U.S. ally and NATO member was noticeably absent — Turkey.
Snubbing the gathering in Poland, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday attended a rival conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where he met his Russian and Iranian counterparts to work out a final settlement of the war in Syria.
The dueling summits reflect Turkey's drift away from Washington as it finds common ground with Moscow and Tehran, experts and former officials said.
Hosting his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, President Vladimir Putin said the three welcomed the expected U.S. pullout from northeastern Syria.
It would be "a positive step that would help stabilize the situation in this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control," he told a joint press conference after the talks.
Putin said Thursday's talks were "constructive and business-like" and that "close coordination" was crucial to ensuring long-term stability in Syria.
He said the three presidents agreed to "strengthen cooperation" in the so-called Astana framework -- a process initiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey that has eclipsed parallel peace talks led by the United Nations.
They also agreed to work together to put together a constitutional committee that would work to resolve Syria's political future, Putin said, adding that another round of talks would take place in Astana in late March and early April.
Rouhani said Thursday's talks were "very helpful and frank" and insisted on Syria's territorial integrity, calling for a "purge of terrorists" from the terrorist-held northwestern province of Idlib.
He also suggested he did not believe the U.S. was planning to withdraw from Syria. "We have no optimism about what the Americans say... but if they do withdraw, it will be very good news."
At a separate meeting Thursday with Putin, Erdogan said the planned U.S. pullout made it more important for other foreign powers to work together in Syria.
"The U.S. withdrawal decision is one of the most important tests ahead of us. The uncertainty over how the decision will be implemented remains. It is very very important that we work together in this new situation," he said.
Erdogan also called for the removal of the Kurdish forces northeastern Syria.
Thursday's meeting was the fourth summit between the countries' presidents since November 2017.
For decades, the U.S. could count on Turkey as a reliable partner that would line up with other allies against Iran and support Washington's strategic goals. But the political landscape has changed, U.S. influence in the region is in doubt, and Ankara is staking out an independent course, said Colin Clarke, senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank.
"I think we're seeing a realignment," Clarke told NBC News. "The U.S. has gone from the position where we called the shots, to where we are making mere suggestions to Turkey. That's a major sea change."
The conflict in Syria has opened up the most dramatic divide between the two countries, with Ankara infuriated at Washington's support for Kurdish forces in Syria, which it sees as a terrorist threat.
"The real power brokers in Syria are Iran and Russia," said Ilan Goldenberg, a former senior official under the Obama administration and now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank.
When the conflict erupted in Syria in 2011, Erdogan had hoped to see Assad fall. But Turkey has since come to accept that Assad is firmly in place, and that Russia and Iran will be needed to prevent a Kurdish state forming on Turkey's southern border, said Aykan Erdemir, a member of the Turkish parliament from 2011-2015.
"Turkey realizes it has lost in Syria. And the Kurdish issue has always been the top priority for Turkey," said Erdemir, now a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish think tank. And that "means you have to work with Russia," he said.
Like Russia, Turkey has opposed the Trump administration's hardline on Iran, and Erdogan has threatened to defy the U.S. sanctions reimposed on Tehran, calling them an "imperial" policy.
Snubbing the gathering in Poland, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday attended a rival conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where he met his Russian and Iranian counterparts to work out a final settlement of the war in Syria.
The dueling summits reflect Turkey's drift away from Washington as it finds common ground with Moscow and Tehran, experts and former officials said.
Hosting his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, President Vladimir Putin said the three welcomed the expected U.S. pullout from northeastern Syria.
It would be "a positive step that would help stabilize the situation in this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control," he told a joint press conference after the talks.
Putin said Thursday's talks were "constructive and business-like" and that "close coordination" was crucial to ensuring long-term stability in Syria.
He said the three presidents agreed to "strengthen cooperation" in the so-called Astana framework -- a process initiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey that has eclipsed parallel peace talks led by the United Nations.
They also agreed to work together to put together a constitutional committee that would work to resolve Syria's political future, Putin said, adding that another round of talks would take place in Astana in late March and early April.
Rouhani said Thursday's talks were "very helpful and frank" and insisted on Syria's territorial integrity, calling for a "purge of terrorists" from the terrorist-held northwestern province of Idlib.
He also suggested he did not believe the U.S. was planning to withdraw from Syria. "We have no optimism about what the Americans say... but if they do withdraw, it will be very good news."
At a separate meeting Thursday with Putin, Erdogan said the planned U.S. pullout made it more important for other foreign powers to work together in Syria.
"The U.S. withdrawal decision is one of the most important tests ahead of us. The uncertainty over how the decision will be implemented remains. It is very very important that we work together in this new situation," he said.
Erdogan also called for the removal of the Kurdish forces northeastern Syria.
Thursday's meeting was the fourth summit between the countries' presidents since November 2017.
For decades, the U.S. could count on Turkey as a reliable partner that would line up with other allies against Iran and support Washington's strategic goals. But the political landscape has changed, U.S. influence in the region is in doubt, and Ankara is staking out an independent course, said Colin Clarke, senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank.
"I think we're seeing a realignment," Clarke told NBC News. "The U.S. has gone from the position where we called the shots, to where we are making mere suggestions to Turkey. That's a major sea change."
The conflict in Syria has opened up the most dramatic divide between the two countries, with Ankara infuriated at Washington's support for Kurdish forces in Syria, which it sees as a terrorist threat.
"The real power brokers in Syria are Iran and Russia," said Ilan Goldenberg, a former senior official under the Obama administration and now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank.
When the conflict erupted in Syria in 2011, Erdogan had hoped to see Assad fall. But Turkey has since come to accept that Assad is firmly in place, and that Russia and Iran will be needed to prevent a Kurdish state forming on Turkey's southern border, said Aykan Erdemir, a member of the Turkish parliament from 2011-2015.
"Turkey realizes it has lost in Syria. And the Kurdish issue has always been the top priority for Turkey," said Erdemir, now a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish think tank. And that "means you have to work with Russia," he said.
Like Russia, Turkey has opposed the Trump administration's hardline on Iran, and Erdogan has threatened to defy the U.S. sanctions reimposed on Tehran, calling them an "imperial" policy.