Russia, Iran, Turkey ready to guarantee Syria deal

BEIRUT — Russia, Iran, and Turkey are ready to act as guarantors to a future settlement between the Syrian government and the opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday, as hundreds more residents left the opposition’s last foothold in eastern Aleppo.

The announcement from Moscow underscored Turkey’s position as a key broker in the Syria conflict, after it mediated last week’s agreement with Russia to have the opposition surrender its presence in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

The United States was notably absent from the meeting between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, and Iran.

In Aleppo, a fleet of buses entered east Aleppo again Tuesday afternoon to evacuate the remaining rebels and civilians from the city, activists said.

Opposition media activist Ahmad Primo said the fleet could well be the last one to leave the city.

Primo estimated 2,000 people remain awaiting evacuation.

Residents from eastern Aleppo and the Syrian opposition say the evacuation amounts to forced displacement. Months of devastating Syrian and Russian air raids that destroyed buildings, hospitals and schools in the enclave — and reduced much of eastern Aleppo to rubble — left the residents with little choice but to flee.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad forces, warned the remaining residents in the rebel enclave on Tuesday to leave “as quickly as possible” in statements broadcast by a Hezbollah media arm.