Historisk topmøde i Istanbul fører til at Tyskland, Frankrig, Tyrkiet og Rusland bliver enige om en plan for Syrien

RT
lør, 27 okt 2018 22:19 UTC

Kommentar: På den ene side er det blot endnu et topmøde i en tid med en vedvarende strøm af topmøder om skelsættende begivenheder.

På den anden side er dette møde særligt historisk, fordi det markerer første gang - siden begyndelsen af det 18. århundrede der ikke er tilstedeværelse af enten britterne eller amerikanerne.

Dette er uden tvivl DEN største nyhed, som enhver burde høre om. I Vesten og specielt i den engelsk-amerikanske sfærer er nyheden fuldstændig overdøvet af den stribe af kriser som den befinder sig selv i og den øredøvende lyd fra nyhedsmedierne (krise eller ej) der blæser deres eget horn for hvor fantastiske og dydige de selv er...

© PutinMerkelErdoganMacron Global Look Press/Oliver Weiken

Ruslands Præsident Putin • Tysklands Kansler Merkel • Tyrkiets Præsident Erdogan • Frankrigs Præsident Macron

På trods af årevis af uenigheder om Syrien, har lederne af Tyrkiet, Frankrig, Tyskland og Rusland, da de mødtes i Istanbul udarbejdet en fælles vision for skridt til at genforene det krigshærgede land. Her er sammenfatningen

Kommentar: Delvist oversat af Sott.net fra Historic Istanbul Summit Sees Germany, France, Turkey And Russia Agree Roadmap For Syria

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who hosted the talks, was joined by Russia's Vladimir Putin and France's Emmanuel Macron, as well as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. Following the summit, the four leaders held a joint press conference and released a communique, highlighting what common ground they had found during the four-way talks.

• Only political solution for Syria: The leaders have "expressed their support for an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that is facilitated by the United Nations."
• Need to start work on constitution in Geneva: A committee set to draft a new constitution for Syria should begin its work as soon as possible, preferably before the end of this year.
• No to division of Syria: Syria must continue to exist within its pre-war borders. Any separatist movements or desires of foreign powers to occupy parts of the country are therefore firmly rejected.
• Keep ceasefire & defeat terrorists: The four countries have expressed their support for the Idlib ceasefire deal, brokered earlier by Russia and Turkey. At the same time, they emphasized the importance of fighting terrorism and condemned the usage of chemical weapons.
• Boost humanitarian aid: The United Nations and other international organizations should bolster aid deliveries to the war-torn country. "Swift, safe and unhindered" flow of humanitarian aid will provide much needed relief to the sufferings of the Syrian people.
• Help return of refugees: The four leaders stressed the importance of "safe and voluntary" return of refugees to Syria. To facilitate the process, appropriate housing and social care facilities must be constructed in the country.
• Internationally-observed elections: The ultimate goal of the political settlement process is holding transparent, internationally-observed elections, the statement reads. All Syrians, including those who had to flee the country, must be able to participate.

Kommentar: The roadmap is, essentially, exactly what Russia has been calling for for the last 7 years.

First Putin got Syria and Iran onboard, then Turkey, and now the two major EU countries.

'Assad must go' is officially dead, and so is 'the Yinon plan' for partitioning Syria.

More from RT

"The whole world is watching this meeting. I hope, that the hopes will be met," Erdogan said, while opening the summit.

The four leaders are also expected to be joined by UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura. The four-way summit is an entirely new format of talks on the war-torn country, which has endured years-long conflict.

The meeting is all about testing the waters and trying to bring about different formats of talks on Syria, as if the leaders were to "synchronize watches" rather than reach a breakthrough, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Similar opinion was expressed by Germany, with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stating that the summit effectively brings different sides together for the very first time.

"There are Russians and Turks, who have been at the same format of talks with Iran. And on the other side, there are French and us, who partake in the so-called 'Friends of Syria' group," Maas said ahead of the event, adding that having a "joint conversation" was a viable idea.

Turkey, which is hosting the summit, appears to be a little bit more optimistic about the high-profile event. According to the spokesman for Turkey's President, Ibrahim Kalin, the leaders are expected to discuss prospects of political settlement in Syria, and might agree on some sort of reconciliation roadmap and the main ideas for the new Syrian Constitution.

10/27/2018 From RT:

Setting up the committee to draft a new Syrian constitution is a priority, but eliminating the remaining "radical elements" in the country remains an important objective, Russia's Vladimir Putin said at the Istanbul summit.

"While the degree of violence in Syria has been greatly reduced, elimination of all the radical elements is still an important task," President Vladimir Putin said, speaking after the four-way Syria summit with leaders of Turkey, France and Germany. "We cannot allow the battle-hardened bandits to carry on with their illicit activities, to create "sleeper cells" in our countries, recruit supporters and spread extremist ideology and terror."

Turkey is sticking to its commitments over the Idlib ceasefire deal, Putin said, but added that Ankara has not yet been able to force all the radicals in the region to comply with the agreement. Russia's leader expressed hopes that the ceasefire will be fully implemented in the future.

If the terrorists continue to launch attacks from Idlib, Moscow reserves the right to provide armed support to the Syrian government to clear the region by force, Putin stated.

While the Idlib agreement is very important, it still is a "temporary measure," he said. Lasting peace can be only brought through a political solution, the Russian president stressed, adding that the committee to draft a new Syrian constitution is expected to begin its work before the end of the year.

"The fate of the country must be ultimately decided by the Syrian people," he added.