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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Emmanuel Macron and President of Russia Vladimir Putin gathered in İstanbul for a quadrilateral summit on Syria yesterday (October 27).
After their joint meeting, the leaders of the four countries have also released a joint statement. In their statement, the Presidents and the Chancellor have "expressed their shared concern on the risks and threats emanating from the conflict for regional as well as global security and stability".
Merkel, Erdoğan, Macron and Putin have also "reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN)".
Emphasis on an increased coordination
In their statement, the Presidents and Chancellor have underlined their "conviction that there could be no military solution to the ongoing conflict" and added, "the conflict could be resolved only through a negotiated political process in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254."
The statement has also emphasized the "importance of increased coordination among all international initiatives which aim at contributing to a credible and sustainable solution to the Syrian conflict".
The importance of a lasting ceasefire
In their statement, where they have stressed "their determination to fight against terrorism in Syria", the leaders have expressed " their strongest opposition to the use of chemical weapons by any party in Syria".
On this occasion, they have "called for strict compliance by all parties with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction".
Emphasizing the importance of establishing "a lasting ceasefire" in Syria, the statement has also expressed "support for an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that is facilitated by the UN and called for active participation in it of the Syrian parties".
Call to the international community
Making a call to the international community to "increase their assistance to Syria", the leaders have underlined "the need to ensure humanitarian organizations' rapid, safe and unhindered access throughout Syria and immediate humanitarian assistance to reach all people in need".
Reaffirming the "solidarity with the host countries, in particular Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan", they have also "highlighted the need to create conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their original places of residence".
It has also been emphasized that "the returnees need security from armed conflict, political persecution or arbitrary arrests as well as humanitarian infrastructure, including water, electricity, health and social services".
Commitment to working together
In concluding the statement, the Chancellor of Germany and Presidents of Turkey, France and Russia have "emphasized the necessity of coordination among all relevant parties" and "expressed their commitment to working together in order to create condition for peace and stability in Syria". (TP/SD)
