Four-way summit on Syria to convene for second time

FOREIGN Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed yesterday that the leaders of Turkey, Russia, and Germany agreed to hold talks on Syria, but the date of the meeting has yet to be decided.

Speaking to reporters following NATO meetings in Brussels, Çavuşoğlu underscored, “The leaders will hold talks, but the date of the meeting will be decided according to the availability of the leaders.”

In relation to the second quartet summit, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Dec. 4: “We agreed with Erdoğan and Merkel that if needed another forum may be convened with the participation of Putin, Erdoğan, Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. There is only preliminary readiness of the three countries’ leaders for this meeting.”

The quartet summit, which was first held in Istanbul with the participation of Turkish, Russian, French and German leaders on Oct. 27, drew great international attention as it was the first time that the four leaders met to address the ongoing crisis in Syria. In a joint statement following the first summit, the four leaders expressed their determination to reject separatist agendas aiming to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and that it was crucial to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Idlib as well. It also emphasized that efforts will be accelerated for the political process, stressing that free and fair elections should be held for the Syrian people to decide on their future.