French, German, Russian and Turkish leaders meet in summit on Syria
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A four-way summit on Syria has ended with no major breakthrough, even as the leaders of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France agreed that a fragile ceasefire in Idlib should be preserved and said a committee tasked with drafting the war-torn country’s new constitution needs to convene by the end of the year.
The leaders of Germany, Turkey, Russia and France met in Istanbul to try and find common ground on the future of Syria.
In a joint communique following their meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” and said conditions needed to be created for the safe and voluntary return of refugees.
The summit, which was not attended by any Syrian groups, was the first to bring the four leaders together.
“At the end of this political process, there must be free elections to which all Syrians have access — including the diaspora,” Merkel told a news conference.
“We have called for the process of forming a constitutional committee to be finalized as soon as possible,”
Erdogan said a joint press conference. “Our desire is it is formed by the end of this year.”
