Bogdanov holds the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey in Astana

Moscow, (ST) – The Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African Countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov affirmed that he is counting on constructive work in the Astana process on Syria, which are continuous and require political will from the participating delegations.

Bogdanov said in a statement in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on Tuesday that in parallel with the 20th international meeting in the Astana format, another event is taking place, which is a meeting of representatives of the four countries at the level of deputy foreign ministers (Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey) to discuss relations between Syria and Turkey. He added that this matter is an important, and it should be based on the principles of mutual respect, territorial integrity, unity of states, and sovereignty of Syria and Turkey, noting thd many issues that arose between the two sides during the past twelve years.

Bogdanov indicated that there are other important issues that will be discussed related to refugees, security issues, the illegal American presence, humanitarian issues, and others.

He said: On the tenth of last May in Moscow, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey took place, and the deputy foreign ministers were assigned to prepare a road map on relations between Syria and Turkey, and we hope for success in this work.

Bogdanov stated that under the pretext of combating terrorism, American forces were introduced into Syria in the region east of the Euphrates, and this is an important region for Syria as it contains oil resources.

“The Americans are also in Al-Tanf area illegally, and they support a number of separatist and terrorist groups there, and this is absolutely unacceptable because it constitutes a violation of the territorial integrity of Syria”, Bogdanov added.

Bogdanov also said: All issues are interrelated, and the return of refugees, for example, requires resolving economic issues and rebuilding the economy, cities and villages, and this matter requires collective efforts. We hope that the Arab countries will support this issue, especially after the resumption of Syria’s participation in the meetings of the League of Arab States and the participation of President Bashar al-Assad in the Jeddah summit. We believe that these are important aspects that may help in finding solutions to many humanitarian problems”, he added.

Raghda Sawas