Iran, Russia, Turkey meet UN envoy on Syria
GENEVA — The United Nations envoy for Syria hosted key diplomats from Iran, Russia and Turkey on Tuesday to discuss work toward rewriting the country’s constitution, amid concerns about a possibly devastating military offensive on rebel-held Idlib province.
The talks led by Staffan de Mistura started and ended with little or no comment to reporters at the UN offices in Geneva, and offered a sideshow to the concerns about a looming battle for the northern province — the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria after 7 1/2 years of war and now home to some three million civilians.
De Mistura’s spokesperson, Michael Contet, said in an email that any debriefing by the envoy about the meeting will be “reserved” for comments that he plans to make to UN Security Council next Tuesday.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the diplomats discussed the formation of the constitutional committee, “which constitutes a significant step in the struggle to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” as well as procedural rules.
It said the sides confirmed their “agreement in principle” to lists of participants proposed by the Syrian government and the opposition and held consultations on which civil society groups would also participate in the committee.
The ministry said the Turkish, Russian and Iranian officials would hold more talks on the issue at a “technical level.”
On Monday, the head of the UN humanitarian agency, Mark Lowcock, warned that Idlib could see “the worst humanitarian catastrophe, with the biggest loss of life of the 21st century.”
Iran and Russia have backed a military campaign on Idlib involving Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, despite Turkey’s pleas for a ceasefire.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, a special envoy for Iran’s foreign minister, said a “good result” could emerge. Asked whether Iran shared the concerns about a possible humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib, Jaberi Ansari replied: “We are worried, too. We are trying to avoid this.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, declined to answer a question on his way into the talks about whether Russia would stop its airstrikes.