TEHRAN -- The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey have discussed the current situation on the ground in Syria and reiterated their determination to enhance their trilateral coordination.
In a joint statement issued at the end of their summit in Tehran, they “emphasized their unwavering commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”.
They “highlighted that these principles should be universally respected and that no actions, no matter by whom they were undertaken should undermine them”.
The three presidents further “expressed their determination to continue working together to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations”.
They condemned increased presence and activities of terrorist groups and their affiliates under different names in various parts of Syria, including the attacks targeting civilian facilities, which result in loss of innocent lives.
The presidents “rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, including illegitimate self-rule initiatives, and expressed their determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as threatening the national security of neighboring countries including through cross-border attacks and infiltrations”.
They discussed the situation in the north of Syria, emphasized that security and stability in this region can only be achieved on the basis of preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and decided to coordinate their efforts to this end.
They also expressed their opposition to the illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues that should belong to Syria.
Presidents Ebrahim Raisi, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan further “reaffirmed the determination to continue their ongoing cooperation in order to ultimately eliminate terrorist individuals, groups, undertakings and entities, while ensuring the protection of the civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with the international humanitarian law”.
They reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area and underscored the necessity to maintain calm on the ground by fully implementing all agreements on Idlib.
They “expressed grave concern at the humanitarian situation in Syria and rejected all unilateral sanctions which are in contravention of international law, international humanitarian law and the UN Charter including, among other things, any discriminatory measures through waivers for certain regions which could lead to this country’s disintegration by assisting separatist agendas”.
They reaffirmed their conviction that there could be no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that it could only be resolved through the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
They also condemned the continuing Israeli military attacks in Syria including civilian infrastructures and considered it as violating the international law, international humanitarian law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and recognized it as destabilizing and intensifying the tension in the region.
The presidents reaffirmed the necessity to abide by universally recognized international legal decisions, including those provisions of the relevant UN resolutions rejecting the occupation of Syrian Golan, first and foremost UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 497 which also consider all decisions and measures taken by Israel in this regard null and void and have no legal effect.
On Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has told Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that had he not started the war in Ukraine, NATO, the “dangerous creature”, would have done it eventually.
“War is a violent and difficult issue and the Islamic Republic is in no way happy that civilians get caught up in it, but concerning Ukraine, had you not taken the initiative, the other side would have taken the initiative and caused the war,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader said the West is opposed to a strong and independent Russia, adding: “NATO would know no bounds if the way was open to it, and if it was not stopped in Ukraine, it would start the same war using Crimea as an excuse.”
Putin was quoted as calling the loss of civilian life in the war a “big tragedy”, but blaming the West for causing a Russian “reaction”.
“Some Western countries had said we’re against Ukraine’s membership in NATO but we agreed to it under pressure from the U.S., which shows their lack of independence,” the Russian leader was quoted as saying.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran and Russia must maintain their vigilance in the face of the West’s deceptive policies.
He also emphasized that economic cooperation between Tehran and Moscow is a necessity and will serve the two sides’ interests, particularly in the wake of the West’s sanctions against them. “Long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia will be deeply beneficial to both countries.”
The Leader said it was paramount that the oil and gas agreements currently in the works between the two energy-rich countries are “followed through to the end and become operational.”
The Leader also stressed the importance of launching Rasht-Astara railway in an effort to complete the North-South Transport Corridor and benefit both countries.
Ayatollah Khamenei voiced support for the policy of replacing the U.S. dollar with national currencies in bilateral trade ties, saying, “The dollar should be gradually removed from global transactions.”