Russia, Turkey, Iran to discuss Syrian dialogue summit

By Emre Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW

The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran will discuss the Syrian National Dialogue Congress at their upcoming summit on Wednesday in Sochi, a Kremlin aide said on Monday.

"Military officials will also attend the summit," Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani will meet on Wednesday in Russia's coastal city of Sochi, where they will discuss the Syrian settlement process, particularly the joint work from the Astana talks.

During the last round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana late last month, three guarantor countries -- Russia, Turkey and Iran -- agreed to discuss proposals for holding a national dialogue conference, which is expected to be held in Sochi.

Ushakov said the date of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress has yet to be decided.

Turkey, for its part, said it was not against such a summit, but there should be no terrorist organizations at the table.

“Regarding this issue, Turkey's position is clear," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters in Ankara on Monday.

Bozdag said Turkey was ready to give any kind of support for a political solution in Syria, adding Ankara will not cooperate with PKK/PYD terrorist organization in Syria.

The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.

Since the PKK launched its terror campaign in Turkey in 1984, tens of thousands of people have been killed.

The U.S. and the coalition have largely ignored the PYD/PYG links to the PKK, which the U.S., EU, and Turkey list as a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that the three presidents will agree on the composition of the congress during their meeting in Sochi.

Lavrov said the invitees for the congress would be determined according to UN Security Council resolutions and decisions taken in both Geneva and Astana processes.

"It [the congress] should have most inclusive participation both from the [Syrian] government and from the opposition," he added.

* Diyar Guldogan from Ankara contributes to this report