In phone call with Erdogan, Rouhani stresses the need to uproot terrorism in Idleb, respect Syria’s territorial integrity

TEHRAN, (ST)-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed in a phone conversation with President of the Turkish regime Recep Tayyib Erdogan the need to uproot terrorism from Idleb, respect Syria’s territorial integrity and maintain Astana process on Syria.

The Iranian leader said that the situation in Idleb is complicated and worrisome given the presence of dangerous terrorists there. He reiterated the importance eliminating those terrorists and focusing on an agreement to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and uproot terrorism.

“We must seek a solution through dialogue, so we must not allow the Astana process to be derailed,” Rouhani said.

 Putin, Rouhani call for full implementation of Astana agreements on Syria

In the same context, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani discussed in a phone conversation Saturday the situation in Syria in the light of the increasing tension in Idlib’s de-escalation zone.

The two leaders called for full implementation of Astana agreements on Syria.

Rouhani reiterated that Astana agreements should be implemented as soon as possible and terrorism should be uprooted from Idleb.

He pointed out that it is unacceptable that the situation in Idleb be used as a pretext for American interference in Syria’s affairs.

It is also unacceptable that some parts of Syria remain in the hands of terrorists for years, Rouhani said, reiterating that political solution is the only way to end the crisis in Syria.

The Iranian President expressed Tehran’s readiness to host a trilateral meeting between leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey with the purpose of continuing Astana process.

On his part, Putin described the agreements made within the framework of Astana process on Syria as very effective, saying that creating de-escalation zones does not mean stopping the fight against terrorism.

He stressed the need to maintain Syria’s territorial integrity, noting the Syrian government’s right to fight terrorists within its country.

Moreover, President Putin told his French counterpart in a phone conversation on Saturday that all the pressing issues regarding settlement in Syria are to be discussed in detail at a Russian-Turkish summit meeting in Moscow, scheduled to held within the coming days, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

Hamda Mustafa