Russian, NATO leaders come up with few answers to end long war
ISTANBUL » The leaders of Russia and three NATO nations met Saturday for talks aimed at finding an end to Syria’s long war, whose possible final stages are now being shaped by Moscow and other outside powers.
But although each country stressed its commitment to ending the seven-year conflict, the summit appeared to produce few concrete results — underscoring the challenges of reaching a formula for peace formula amid rival factions, extremist groups and Western reluctance to re-engage with Syrian President Bashar alAssad.
At a closing news conference, participants reiterated yearslong calls for a political, not military, solution.
Calling the discussions “fruitful and sincere,” Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan said all four participants — including Germany and France — agreed to support a United Na- tions-backed push to form a new constitutional committee for Syria by the end of the year.
“There will be no real, sustainable, credible return of the refugees if the political process is not initiated,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
A final statement released by the leaders called for “an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process,” and the convening of a committee by the end of the year to work on constitutional reform as a prelude to U.N.-backed free and fair elections.
There were few indications that this was likely to materialize in the short term.
Participants at an earlier peace conference in Russia’s Black Sea resort Sochi had agreed to form the 150-member committee to rewrite the Syrian constitution, with a third chosen by the government, a third by opposition groups and a third by the United Nations.
But the U.N.’s top diplomat on Syria, Staffan di Mistura, told reporters Friday that Syria’s foreign minister, Walid Moallem, had rejected the idea that the United Nations should play a role in forming part of the committee.
As discussions wound down Saturday, Turkish state television showed Erdogan, Macron, Russian President Vladmir Putin and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel strolling through the gardens of an Ottoman-era mansion toward, looking relaxed and ignoring the cameras.