Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted a joint statement as the guarantor states of the Astana process following their talks in Tehran on Tuesday.

Erdoğan, Raisi, and Putin emphasized their unshakable commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, rejecting efforts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of fighting terrorism, including illegitimate autonomy initiatives, confronting separatist agendas aimed at weakening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and condemned the continuation of the Zionist Regime's military attacks on Syria.

The leaders also condemned the continuation of the Zionist Regime's military attacks on Syria, including on civilian infrastructure, and described the attacks as violating international law, international humanitarian law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as destabilizing and intensifying the tension in the region.

The full text of the joint statement of the Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Turkey at the 7th Summit of the Guarantor States of the Astana Process is as follows:

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin, and the President of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, gathered in Tehran on July 20, 2022 to participate in the tripartite summit in the framework of the Astana Process.

The Presidents:

1- discussed the current situation in the field in Syria, reviewed the latest developments after the virtual meeting of the heads of state on July 1, 2020, and once again expressed their determination to strengthen tripartite coordination based on the agreements between them and the results of the meetings of foreign ministers and senior experts. They also reviewed the latest international and regional developments and emphasized the leading role of the Astana Process in the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis.

2- emphasized their unshakable commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as to the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and stated that these principles should be respected by all and no action, regardless of its perpetrators, should weaken these principles;

3- expressed their determination to continue cooperation to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They condemned the increase in the presence and activity of terrorist groups and their affiliated groups under various names in different regions of Syria, including attacks that target civilian facilities and lead to the loss of innocent lives. They emphasized the necessity of the full implementation of all measures related to northern Syria;

4- In this regard, rejected all efforts aimed at creating new realities on the ground under the pretext of fighting terrorism, including the illegitimate initiatives of autonomy, and expressed their determination to confront separatist agendas aimed at weakening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as threats against the national security of neighboring countries through cross-border attacks and infiltrations;

5- examined the conditions of northern Syria and emphasized that achieving security and stability in the region is only possible in the shadow of preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, and for this purpose they decided to coordinate their efforts. They expressed their opposition to the illegal seizure and transfer of oil and the proceeds from its sale, which belong to Syria;

6- once again emphasized their determination to continue the current cooperation in order to finally eliminate all individuals, groups, organizations and terrorist entities, and according to international humanitarian law, they demanded the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure;

7- examined the situation in the Idlib tension reduction area in detail and emphasized the need to maintain peace in the field by fully implementing all the agreements related to Idlib. They expressed serious concern about the presence and activities of terrorist groups that threaten civilians inside and outside the Idlib region. They agreed to make more efforts to ensure the stable normalization of the situation in the de-escalation zone of Idlib and its surroundings, including the humanitarian situation;

8- expressed their deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Syria and rejected all unilateral sanctions that are contrary to international law, international humanitarian law and the United Nations Charter, including discriminatory measures through the issuance of exemptions for certain areas, which can be done with the help of separatist agendas that would cause the disintegration of this country. In this regard, they called on the international community, especially the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies and other governmental and non-governmental international institutions, to increase their aid to all Syrians with greater transparency, away from discrimination, politicization and preconditions;

9- stated once again that the Syrian conflict has no military solution and can only be resolved through the Syrian-Syrian political process with the facilitation of the United Nations in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254. In this regard, they emphasized the important role of the Constitutional Committee, whose formation is the result of the sure participation of the Guarantor States of the Astana Process and the implementation of the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi. They re-emphasized readiness to support the work of the committee through continuous interaction with its members and the special envoy of the UN Secretary General on Syrian affairs, Geir O. Pedersen as a facilitator to ensure the sustainable and effective functioning of the subsequent committee meetings. They expressed the opinion that the committee should, in its work, respect the rules of reference and the rules of procedure in order to be able to carry out its mission in the direction of preparing and drafting constitutional amendments for popular approval, as well as achieving progress in its work with the spirit of compromise and constructive interaction and without external interference and externally imposed timings with the aim of reaching the general agreement of the members. They stated that the activity of the constitutional committee should be free of any logistical and administrative obstacles;

10- stated their determination to continue the operation of mutual release of detainees/kidnapped persons in the framework of the relevant task force in the Astana Process. They emphasized that this task force is a unique mechanism that is effective in building trust between the Syrian parties and its existence is necessary, and they also decided to take measures to continue efforts to free the arrested and kidnapped and increase the scope of operations in accordance with the agenda of the task force to deliver the bodies and identify missing persons;

11- while clarifying that refugees and internally displaced persons have the right to return and the right to be supported, they emphasized the need to facilitate their voluntary and safe return to their main residences in Syria. In this regard, they called on the international community to provide appropriate assistance in order to resettle them and help them return to normal life and take more responsibility in order to participate in strengthening aid to Syria, including the development of initial recovery plans including basic infrastructure, especially water, electricity, health, treatment, education, schools, hospitals, etc., and humanitarian demining according to international humanitarian law;

12- condemned the continuation of the Zionist Regime's military attacks on Syria, including on civilian infrastructure. They considered these attacks as violating international law, international humanitarian law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as destabilizing and intensifying the tension in the region. They emphasized the need to comply with internationally recognized legal decisions, including the provisions of relevant UN resolutions rejecting the occupation of the Syrian Golan, especially UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 497, which invalidate and considered all decisions and actions taken by the Zionist Regime in this regard without legal effects;

13- in addition to the Syrian issue, emphasized their intention to strengthen tripartite coordination in various fields in order to increase joint political and economic cooperation;

14- agreed to oblige their representatives to hold the 19th international summit on Syria within the framework of the Astana Process by the end of 2022;

15- decided to hold the upcoming tripartite meeting of the leaders of the Astana Process at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation Mr Vladimir Putin at the earliest possible opportunity in the Russian Federation;

16- Presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey expressed their sincere gratitude to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His Excellency Mr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, for the generous hosting of the tripartite meeting of the leaders of the Astana Process in Tehran. (ILKHA)