The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey, the main supporter of the rebels, did not agree on any specific steps at the meeting in Doha that could bring the end of the war in Syria closer, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the US president-elect, stated that Russia is now forced to withdraw from Syria and said that “this may be the best thing that could have happened to them.”
Russia, Iran and Türkiye have been guarantors in the so-called the Astana Process, established to end the civil war in Syria that has been ongoing since 2011. In Doha, they met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, an international conference held annually in Qatar
Iran and Russia have long been staunch supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Türkiye supported Syrian rebels during the 2011 uprising and continues to show solidarity with them.
In a speech at the Doha Forum, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused the Syrian president of failing to “seize the opportunity for dialogue and restoring the trust of his people.”
Erdogan: There is a new reality in Syria now
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he “wishes” that Syria will “find the peace it has dreamed of for thirteen years.” He added: – There is a new reality in Syria now, political and diplomatic. And Syria belongs to the Syrians with all its ethnic, denominational and religious elements, he said.
After the ministers' meeting in Doha, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi confirmed to Reuters that Iran, Russia and Turkey had agreed to “dialogue between the Syrian government and legal opposition groups.”
The situation “changes from hour to hour”
The need for political transformation in Syria was highlighted in Doha by the UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. He proposed holding a special conference on this topic. Pedersen met in Doha with U.S. officials and other Western envoys to the Qatari capital.
But there are no signs that the participants of the meeting in Doha have agreed on any specific steps, because the situation in Syria is changing from hour to hour – writes Reuters in its report from the capital of Qatar.
Trump: Pushing the Russians out of Syria could be good for them
US President-elect Donald Trump commented on the international situation related to the civil war in Syria on social media.
“Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have completely taken over many cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, apparently preparing to make a very large move to defeat Assad. Russia, because it is so entangled with Ukraine and with with the loss of over 600,000 soldiers there, it seems unable to stop this literal march through Syria, a country it has protected for years,” he wrote on his website Truth Social.
He did so before news organizations reported hours later that Assad fled the country and, according to the army, his rule fell after 24 years.
He added that Russia is currently forced to withdraw from Syria, but he said that “this may be the best thing that could have happened to them.”
“Russia never had much to gain from Syria, apart from making Obama look stupid,” said the president-elect, referring to former President Barack Obama's decision in 2013, despite his earlier threats, to refrain from military intervention after the Bashar regime used al-Assad's chemical weapons.
He stressed, however, that the war in Syria is chaos with which the US should have nothing to do and should allow the situation to develop further. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT (…) LET'S NOT ENGAGE!” – called (original spelling).
Main photo source: Emin Sansar/Anadolu/GettyImages