Putin: Fate of Syria Must be Ultimately Decided by the Syrians

ISTANBUL- Setting up the committee to discuss the Syrian constitution is a priority, but eliminating the remaining radical elements [terrorists] in the country remains an important objective, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said at the Istanbul summit, according to RT.

“While the degree of violence in Syria has been greatly reduced, elimination of all the radical elements is still an important task,” President Vladimir Putin said, speaking after the four-way Syria summit with leaders of Turkey, France and Germany. “We cannot allow the battle-hardened bandits to carry on with their illicit activities, to create “sleeper cells” in our countries, recruit supporters and spread extremist ideology and terror.”

  Putin said that Turkey has not yet been able to force all the radicals [terrorists] in Idleb to comply with the ceasefire agreement. Russia’s leader expressed hopes that the ceasefire will be fully implemented in the future.

Idlib demilitarized zone agreement  is a temporary measure

If the terrorists continue to launch attacks from Idlib, Moscow reserves the right to provide armed support to the Syrian government to clear the region by force, Putin stated.

While the Idlib agreement is very important, it still is a “temporary measure,” he said. Lasting peace can be only brought through a political solution, the Russian president stressed, adding that the committee to discuss the Syrian constitution is expected to begin its work before the end of the year.

 “The fate of the country must be ultimately decided by the Syrian people,” he added.

H.M