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Why Iran did not attend the Europe-Russia-Turkey summit on Syria

While some have questioned Iran’s absence at the recent four-way summit on Syria between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Turkey, the reality is that Iran likely saw only negative outcomes stemming from its participation in the meeting at this time.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk at the Vahdettin Mansion, during a summit on Syria, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. Kayhan Ozer/Pool via REUTERS - RC1258FD9310
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The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany met Oct. 27 in Istanbul for a summit to discuss the ongoing developments regarding the Syrian crisis. In a final statement issued after the summit, the four sides emphasized Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the necessity of continuing the fight against terrorism in the war-torn country. They also underlined the need for resolving the Syrian crisis through a “negotiated political process,” while calling for providing conditions for the “safe and voluntary return of refugees to Syria.” The quartet also supported the Sept. 17 Russian-Turkish deal in Sochi on de-escalating the situation in Idlib. 

The four-way summit, the first of its kind since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, was of prime importance in terms of its potential for establishing a connection between what has been pursued by Russia and Turkey within the framework of the Astana peace process and the European views toward Syria. However, this very point sparked speculation on why Iran, as the third pillar of the Astana track, did not attend the summit and whether Tehran had been sidelined by its Astana partners.

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