From left: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Russia, 2017. Photo: Kremlin.

JNS.org – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Ankara on Monday for talks focusing on the situation in Syria.

“The summit is aimed at assessing the developments in Syria, Idlib, in particular, as well as ending the climate of conflict, ensuring the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of refugees and discussing the joint step to be taken in the period ahead with the aim of achieving a lasting political solution,” Erdoğan’s office said in a statement on Sunday, according to a report in Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News.

Iran and Russia support Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey opposes the regime and has backed rebel groups.

Russian airstrikes in Syria continue, and Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Friday that “a large number of terrorists are still present in this zone … and fighters continue to fire on the positions of government forces,” according to the AFP.

“A large part of Syria’s problems have been solved and some still remain, the most important of which is the Idlib region and east of Euphrates, as well as the Zionist regime’s (Israel’s) aggressions and America’s interventionist presence,” Rouhani said in a statement before leaving Iran to attend the meeting, according to the report.

The three leaders last met in Moscow in February earlier this year and before that in 2017.