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Top Diplomats Convene Ahead of Syria Summit

Top Diplomats Convene Ahead of Syria Summit
Top Diplomats Convene Ahead of Syria Summit

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Turkey on Sunday to hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts over the conflict in Syria.

Zarif sat down with Russian and Turkish foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu respectively in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya.

The discussions came in the runup to a tripartite summit on the Syria crisis between Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan respectively in the Black Sea resort of Sochi set for Nov. 22.

Iran, Russia and Turkey are acting as guarantors of a ceasefire in Syria, which was secured during the intra-Syrian talks brokered by the three countries in the Kazakh capital Astana.

So far, seven rounds of the Astana talks have brought representatives from Syria's warring sides to the negotiating table d to end the foreign-backed militancy in the Arab country, which broke out in March 2011.

The fourth round of the Astana discussions in May resulted in an agreement on four de-escalation zones across Syria, which has sharply reduced fighting in the conflict zones.

The safe zones cover the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Homs as well as the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and the country's southern border with Jordan.

Cavusoglu on Friday underlined the need for a "sustainable political resolution" in Syria to preserve the achievements of the Astana peace process in the Middle Eastern state, Press TV reported.

"Firstly, we will evaluate what we have done so far, the point we have reached and the steps that we can take from now on. How can we restore stability and peace in Syria? How can we integrate the Astana and [UN-backed] Geneva [processes]? We will continue our work intensively within the framework of the agreement of the leaders," he said.

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