Turkey, Iran, Russia: Israel strikes in Syria are destabilising

Israel’s military attacks in Syria violate the country’s sovereignty and spark tensions in the region, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in a joint statement following the online Astana summit yesterday.

According to the statement, the three presidents reaffirmed the necessity to respect universally recognised international legal decisions.

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In the joint declaration following a closed meeting, the three said they “consider Israeli military attacks in Syria as destabilizing and violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country and intensifying the tension in the region,” according to Republic of Turkey Directorate of Communication.

Astana Format Turkey-Russia-Iran Trilateral Summit objectives:

📌Provide regional peace & security
📌Protect the independence, territorial integrity of Syria
📌Reduce the effects of the humanitarian crisis in the region
📌Cooperation in the field in order to combat terrorism pic.twitter.com/WBHebUXfZ2

— Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications (@Communications) July 1, 2020

The three also rejected US recognition of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli, saying the March 2019 decision was a grave violation of international law and threatens regional peace and security.

Yesterday’s Astana Summit is the first since September in which the three powers, as the guarantors for peace talks in Syria, discussed developments and gathered to find a concrete solution in Syria, where the conflict has entered its tenth year.

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