President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted a quartet meeting on Syria in Istanbul with the participation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. The leaders held a joint press conference following the meeting.

"We discussed what can be done to establish stability in Syria"

Expressing his pleasure for hosting President Putin of the Russian Federation, President Macron of France and Chancellor Merkel of Germany and thanking them for their attendance, President Erdoğan wished the decisions they took at the meeting to yield auspicious results for the Syrian people.

Describing their main priorities as to ensure that a ceasefire is fully established and prevalent on the ground, and the bloodshed is immediately ended, President Erdoğan said that they discussed at the meeting what can be done to achieve a political solution in accordance with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people and to establish stability in Syria.

President Erdoğan said: "Let me, first of all, underline that the main reason why the Syrian conflict has turned into a global problem is that the international community has not responded to the matter adequately. For a long time, Syrian civilians and neighboring countries have unfortunately had to shoulder the burden of the problems caused by the Syrian crisis. Many countries grasped the gravity of the situation only after the effects of the crisis had reached their borders."

President Erdoğan stressed that this indifference should be brought to an end. "The tragedy in Syria will only get worse unless humanitarian, political and diplomatic initiatives are taken. That is the main reason why we have come together today here in Istanbul," he said.

Stating that the cooperation maintained in the Astana format sets an example for the international community, President Erdoğan said they today saw that with the participation of France and Germany, they can further increase the synergy achieved in Astana. The more stakeholder countries contribute to this positive cooperation, the quicker a lasting solution can be achieved, President Erdoğan noted.

Stating that they had sincere and fruitful discussions during the summit, President Erdoğan said they reaffirmed their commitment to Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity as well as their belief that the conflict cannot be resolved through military means alone, and that an inclusive, Syrian-led political process that is facilitated by the UN is needed for a lasting solution.

Stating that they reaffirmed the progress made in the implementation of the memorandum on Idlib signed through the efforts of President Putin of the Russian Federation, President Erdoğan emphasized the importance of abiding by the memorandum so as to preserve the current ceasefire and prevent a new humanitarian crisis.

"We underlined that it is necessary to take concrete steps in the political process by making use of the hope raised by the tranquility secured in Idlib. Within this framework, we called for establishing and early convening, considering the circumstances, by the end of the year, of the Constitutional Committee," President Erdoğan said.

President Erdoğan continued: "The terror threat emanating from Syria is another important topic we addressed during the meeting. On this issue, we reached an agreement to enhance cooperation among the four countries and at the international level."

Drawing attention to the fact that Turkiye is one of the countries that sustain the biggest harm from the terrorist organizations nested in Syria because of its 911-km-long border with the country, President Erdoğan recalled that hundreds of citizens and members of the security forces have been wounded or killed in attacks staged by DAESH and PYD so far.

Pointing out that 7,500 members of the organizations DAESH and PYD have been neutralized and a 4,000-sq-km area has been cleared as a result of operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, conducted with the aim of eliminating both of the organizations at the source, President Erdoğan stated that peace, tranquility, and security prevail now in such Syrian cities as Afrin, Jarabulus and Al-Bab, which Turkiye has rendered safe, and that more than 260,000 Syrians have returned to these regions, with more expected to do so.

Underlining that Turkiye will not allow any illegal groups to get consolidated along its borders or anywhere in Syria, President Erdoğan added: "We will never accept new faits accomplis to be imposed on the ground under the guise of combatting terrorism. We will continue to eliminate threats against our national security at the source east of the Euphrates as is the case west of the Euphrates."

Asked if the issue of Khashoggi murder came up during the talks, President Erdoğan stated that the issue was raised during bilateral meetings and that he shared relevant information with the visiting leaders. Recalling that Turkiye’s intelligence units had formerly exchanged information on the issue with their counterparts of the countries of the guest leaders, President Erdoğan stated that they went into details about the issue during their talks today. The President added that Saudi officials should give an answer to the question, who sent the 18 people, whom Saudi Arabia declared to have been arrested, to Turkiye?

Recalling the Saudi officials' statement that Khashoggi’s corpse was given to a local cooperator, President Erdoğan said: "If this is the case, who is this cooperator? This should be revealed by those who made this statement."

President Erdoğan continued: "It is said they will be punished. The crime was committed in Istanbul. Therefore, we informed them yesterday in written through official channels via the Ministry of Justice that the Turkish judiciary is ready to undertake the judicial trial if Saudi Arabia cannot do it. We will now, of course, wait for their answer. What is more, tomorrow, Saudi Arabia is sending its chief prosecutor to Turkiye and he, with his entourage, will meet with the chief prosecutor of Istanbul. We definitely attach importance to the outcomes of their meeting."

ILKHA