Russia’s Putin: New Syria constitution to be adopted ‘soon’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) hold a joint press conference following the 4th trilateral summit on Syria on 14 February, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. [Turkish Presidency/Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu Agency]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that the final list of candidates tasked with drafting a new constitution for Syria will be formed “very soon”.

This came during a joint press conference with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani after a trilateral summit on Syria held in the Russia city of Sochi.

Putin said Russia is working to resolve the Syrian crisis in close coordination with Turkey and Iran, saying “we have identified important work areas to resolve the crisis”.

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The Russian president stressed that the ceasefire in Syria must “not affect the fight against terrorism there”, noting that the next round of Astana talks – which have been seeking a resolution to the Syrian civil war since 2017 – will be held by the end of March or early April.

“Preserving Syria’s territorial integrity must be a major objective, and this applies to the areas of Idlib and East Euphrates,” Putin said.

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