Turkey, Russia, Qatar push for unlikely new Syria peace track
The trilateral meeting between the countries is meant to push for a political solution to Syria's 10-year-long conflict.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Qatar gathered in Doha today, the first trilateral meeting of its kind in which the parties stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity. Their message appeared to be targeting the United States, which is defending the Syrian Kurds’ autonomous government in the energy-rich northeast of the country with hundreds of special forces and has no plans to leave.
“Turkey will continue to defend Syria’s territorial integrity, protect civilians and fight terror groups,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference. He was referring in particular to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is the US-led coalition’s top partner in the fight against the Islamic State but are also linked to Kurdish militants waging an armed insurgency against Turkey.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concurred that separatism posed a threat to Syria’s neighbors. “Our common goals — of Russia, Turkey [and] Qatar — are reflected in the joint statement that we have just approved, which confirms our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, to counter separatist plans that undermine the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, which threaten the security of neighboring countries,” he said.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said a mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid across the whole of Syria needed to be established. “There is a crucial need to lessen the suffering of the Syrians,” he said.
