The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Russia, Iran and Turkey to hold Syria summit

Russia will host a trilateral summit with Iran and Turkey to discuss Syria, according to the Kremlin.

Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow yesterday that President Vladimir Putin discussed details of the summit with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at last week’s G20 summit in Osaka.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia was concerned about the “alarming development of the situation” in Syria, following several airstrikes on military bases in the country that were connected to Iran. Israel has been blamed for the airstrikes.

Zakharova said: “Force actions that grossly violate the sovereignty of Syria, not only do not contribute to the normalisation of the situation in this country, but also carry a threat of regional destabilisation.”

Syria’s Foreign Ministry has accused Israel of “state terrorism” saying: “The latest heinous Israeli aggression falls within the framework of ongoing Israeli attempts to prolong the crisis in Syria.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that: “We will change the way we will respond in the future … Syria is always ready to reciprocate twice as harsh [against Israeli attacks]. The world, the UN Security Council and the United Nations itself need to understand the danger of such a development since Syria will not keep silent about its right [to retaliate].”

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that on Sunday night Israeli planes and navy ships attacked targets belonging to the regime, Iranian militias and Hezbollah, including a base housing the 1st Division in the area of al-Kiswah, at Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp sites south of Damascus, a scientific research centre in the outskirts of Damascus linked to the production of chemical weapons, and a military airfield.

Alex Fishman in Yediot Ahronot believes that the large-scale attack could not have been carried out without prior and meticulous coordination with the Russians. He also argues the attack was intended to destroy the Iranian military infrastructure in Syria.

Source: Russia, Iran and Turkey to hold Syria summit – BICOM