-Syria summit in Sochi
The summit of the Turkish, Russian and Iranian leaders, who gathered in Sochi last week, resulted in an agreement to continue collaboration on Syria. It was also decided to organize the Syrian National Dialogue Congress that is due to take place in early December at Russia’s behest.
However, Turkey’s stance on the terrorist group PKK’s Syrian arm, the PYD/YPG involvement in the Congress is a topic that will be further negotiated. As Turkey insists that a terrorist group’s attendance at the conference is unacceptable, Russia is still pursuing ways to involve the terrorist group at the conferences, as it believes that this will get the Syrian Kurds under its control.
The most significant remarks from the summit came from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said that “no one should expect us to be on the same platform when we are under the same roof as a terrorist organization [in reference to the PKK’s Syrian arm, the PYD/YPG]. If we are to express our commitment to the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria, we will not see a handful of gangs who are trying to divide this country as a legitimate actor."
After the summit, there was expectation that Russia would further recognize Turkey’s concerns over the PKK’s involvement in a political settlement in Syria.
These concerns were also reflected in the Russian media.
The daily RBK said that thanks to the steps that Turkey, Russia and Iran have taken on the field and through diplomatic means, they will remain the main actors for a settlement in Syria.
The paper also underlines that while the three leaders did not mention the name of Bashar Assad, the Syrian leader is likely to remain in power due to his recent victories over DASEH in Syria.
Experts, however, note that Russia's influence on Assad is not limitless. They predict that Assad will have to make sacrifices in negotiations to reach a settlement in the upcoming period. They further assert that Russia could withdraw support for Assad if he is not forthcoming with making any compromises.