Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 23
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
The recent meeting between Russian, Iranian and Turkish leaders in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in fact indicates the formation of a political alliance to prevent the influence of the US in the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gathered in Sochi on Wednesday to find a solution to put an end to the six-year Syrian crisis.
While many like President Putin believe that military operation in Syria nears the end and there is a real chance to establish peace in the war-torn country, surely any political solutions requires compromise by all sides involved in the crisis, including President Bashar al-Assad himself. However, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara, who have deeply been involved in Syrian crisis, need to make sure that the role of the US in the post-war era Syria will be curbed.
It appears that the Sochi talks were designed to strengthen Astana peace talks, which according to Putin reduced the violence in Syria. The sides mostly in Kazakhstan discussed military dimensions, but Sochi talks focused on political stability in order to protect military achievements. It seems that the three sides involved in the Sochi talks will work on securing a ceasefire in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, which would rule out the possibility of an armed clash between Turkish, Kurdish and pro-Assad forces.
While the recent military advances by the pro-government forces in the battle fields in Syria have pushed the politicians to seat around the negotiation table, Putin is playing the role of the leader of political talks.
Bashar al-Assad earlier flew to Russia to meet Putin, which apparently led to an agreement between the sides on carrying out political reforms and holding elections in the country, though many believe that the settlement is likely to leave al-Assad in power.
Following his meeting with Bashar al-Assad, Putin discussed the situation with Saudi, Egyptian and American counterparts. The reports on Putin’s phone conversation with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, suggest that the Russian president, who has managed to restore his influence in the Middle East, seeks to keep the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria and reach a political settlement through a full-scale negotiation process.
Although the US is struggling to keep a military presence inside Syria through supplying aid to Syrian Kurds, any development that could strengthen the pro-US forces in the Arab country would cause concerns in Tehran and Moscow. On the other hand, Ankara is worried about the presence of Kurdish militants in Syria as it sees the Syrian Kurds as a support for the Kurdish PKK rebels operating as a terrorist group in Turkey.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani refused to name any specific nations when he said that foreign interference in the conflict in Syria must end and foreign military presence in the country may only be acceptable if it is by the invitation of Syria’s government. However, he definitely meant the US and its allies.