Syria crisis: Germany, France, Turkey and Russia call for free elections
Germany, France, Turkey and Russia call for a UN-led “political process’’ to end the war in Syria with a goal for free elections.
The leaders of Germany, France, Turkey and Russia have called for a United Nations-led “political process’’ to end the protracted war in Syria with a goal for the country to have free elections.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a mini-summit involving the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Saturday to try and find a way to end the Syrian civil war. Afterwards the four stressed the importance of a lasting ceasefire in the last rebel held area of Idlib to avoid another refugee crisis.
There have been recent flareups around the buffer zone surrounding Idlib — despite the efforts of Russia, which backs Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Turkey, which supports the rebels.
Mr Macron tweeted that the meeting was held to avoid further humanitarian disasters.
After the meeting, the four leaders called for a committee to draft a new constitution for Syria before the end of the year, “paving the way for free and fair elections.”
Mrs Merkel said: “At the end of this political process, there must be free elections to which all Syrians have access — including the diaspora.”
The leaders also called for efforts to facilitate the safe and voluntary return of refugees back to Syria and rejected separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as the national security of neighbouring countries.
After the meeting Erdogan said that the fate of President Bashar Assad would be decided by the Syrian people, both at home and abroad.
“Assad is a person who killed one million of his people. He is not in a credible position for us,’’ he said.
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