Commenting on the recent trilateral meeting between Russia, Turkey and Iran on the Syrian crisis and the resulting joint statement on reviving the political process to end the conflict, Turkish opposition politician Öztürk Yılmaz noted to Sputnik that it is the first time Turkey has openly voiced its readiness to work with President Assad.

Last week, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey discussed the situation in Syria, including Aleppo, in Moscow.

The top diplomats of the three countries then issued a joint statement to revive the political process to end the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country.

On Monday, during his visit to St. Petersburg, the Kazakh President stated that he will organize further negotiations on Syria between the three countries.

Commenting on the negotiations between Russia, Turkey and Iran, Turkish politician, Vice-chairman of the country's main opposition Republican People's Party Öztürk Yılmaz told Sputnik Turkiye that by joining Russia and Iran, Ankara has for the first time openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad.

"The defeat of opposition in Aleppo and its retreat have largely changed the balance of power in Syria," he told Sputnik.

"Turkey's main Justice and Development Party (AKP) has demonstrated the failure of its Syrian policies which has considerably undermined its influence in the region. The next serious blow to its influence and image was the murder of the Russian ambassador in Ankara," he added.

As the result, the politician said, Ankara was forced to abandon its disastrous political line to alter the power in Syria, which it has been pursuing for the last 5-6 years.

He further explained that in the declaration which was signed in Moscow last week, the three countries stressed the need to secure the territorial integrity of Syria. And even though the Turkish authorities have repeatedly made it clear before, it was the first time when Turkey, through negotiations with Russia and Iran, has openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad, which is one of the major achievements.

Öztürk Yılmaz also noted the change in the format of the negotiation process. Before, he said, it was led by the two co-chairmen of the International Syria Support Group, Russia and the US.

However, now the Obama administration has lost the initiative on the Syrian issue and it has fully come over to Russia.

The Turkish politician further explained that the US' top priority in Syria was the protectionist policy towards the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). Washington has been only been encouraging PYD forces to engage Daesh in order to try to legitimize the Syrian Kurds in the eyes of the international community while pursuing its own interests.

But Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been advocating the need for negotiations with President Assad and to build-up the relationship with Damascus and those countries which support the territorial integrity of Syria instead of those who want to break up the country, from the very start of the Syrian conflict, he noted.

The trilateral agreements are a very important step towards the settlement of the Syrian conflict, he added.

Commenting on the announcement of the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Öztürk Yılmaz said that he hopes that the meeting in Astana will signify the next stage in the negotiation process.

The Syrian conflict has demonstrated that there is no military solution to the crisis, he said. Hence, he added, there is hope that there will be grounds for a political solution.

He pointed to the positive signs which are already visible: the territory occupied by Daesh is dwindling in size, the opposition is retreating while the territory under control of the government forces keeps expanding.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!</s>The top diplomats of the three countries then issued a joint statement to revive the political process to end the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country.

On Monday, during his visit to St. Petersburg, the Kazakh President stated that he will organize further negotiations on Syria between the three countries.

Commenting on the negotiations between Russia, Turkey and Iran, Turkish politician, Vice-chairman of the country's main opposition Republican People's Party Öztürk Yılmaz told Sputnik Turkiye that by joining Russia and Iran, Ankara has for the first time openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad.

"The defeat of opposition in Aleppo and its retreat have largely changed the balance of power in Syria," he told Sputnik.

As the result, the politician said, Ankara was forced to abandon its disastrous political line to alter the power in Syria, which it has been pursuing for the last 5-6 years.

He further explained that in the declaration which was signed in Moscow last week, the three countries stressed the need to secure the territorial integrity of Syria. And even though the Turkish authorities have repeatedly made it clear before, it was the first time when Turkey, through negotiations with Russia and Iran, has openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad, which is one of the major achievements.

Öztürk Yılmaz also noted the change in the format of the negotiation process. Before, he said, it was led by the two co-chairmen of the International Syria Support Group, Russia and the US.

However, now the Obama administration has lost the initiative on the Syrian issue and it has fully come over to Russia.

But Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been advocating the need for negotiations with President Assad and to build-up the relationship with Damascus and those countries which support the territorial integrity of Syria instead of those who want to break up the country, from the very start of the Syrian conflict, he noted.

The trilateral agreements are a very important step towards the settlement of the Syrian conflict, he added.

Commenting on the announcement of the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Öztürk Yılmaz said that he hopes that the meeting in Astana will signify the next stage in the negotiation process.

The Syrian conflict has demonstrated that there is no military solution to the crisis, he said. Hence, he added, there is hope that there will be grounds for a political solution.

He pointed to the positive signs which are already visible: the territory occupied by Daesh is dwindling in size, the opposition is retreating while the territory under control of the government forces keeps expanding.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!</s>Dec 23 President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to attend peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana to try to resolve the conflict in Syria. Putin said the evacuation of Aleppo would not have been possible without the help of Russia, Iran and Turkey or the good will of Assad.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>Syrian President Bashar al-Assad paid a Christmas visit Sunday to Christian orphans as his forces backed by Russia and Iran prepared new assaults in Aleppo.

Photos posted on official Syrian social media showed Assad and his fashionable wife, Asma, meeting with orphan children dressed in Santa suits and caps at a convent in Damascus.

The photo-op came as Syria entered its sixth year of civil war and Assad's forces readied new offensives in and around Aleppo, which he declared "liberated" last week following a months-long siege in which the U.S. and humanitarian groups charged that Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed hospitals, schools and aid convoys.

Assad's army backed by Iranian and Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah fighters were continuing clearing operations in Aleppo and preparing assaults on the remnants of rebel forces in Aleppo's western suburbs, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.

In his Christmas message from the Vatican, Pope Francis called for a negotiated settlement and peace in Syria, saying "far too much blood has been spilled" in the conflict.

According to the United Nations and independent monitors, Syria's civil war has killed more than 450,000, displaced nearly half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million and triggered a refugee crisis that has destabilized governments in Europe.

Last week, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and U.S. NATO-ally Turkey met in Moscow to coordinate plans for Syria and a possible "cessation of hostilities." The U.S. was not invited to the meeting.

On Sunday, Turkey moved tanks and artillery to the Syrian border and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his forces were prepared to help the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in taking Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Erdogan said Turkish assistance was conditional on President-elect Donald Trump barring the Syrian Kurdish YPG, or Popular Mobilization Units, from taking part in the liberation of Raqqa. The YPG has proven to be the most effective of the U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria, but Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group looking to carve out a Kurdish state in northeastern Syria.

"We will not allow the formation of a new state in northern Syria," Erdogan said. Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, on Monday criticized the U.S. for withholding air support from Turkey's military which pushed into northeastern Syria earlier this year to move against ISIS strongholds, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported.

"We would like to express once more that the international coalition should make a special commitment particularly to provide air support," Kalin told reporters. "We are coordinating with the international coalition. It is unacceptable that air support is not provided without a legitimate reason."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.</s>Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he is ready to host talks between Russia, Iran, and Turkey on the conflict in Syria in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

"Kazakhstan is ready to host all sides for talks in Astana," Nazarbayev said on December 26 during a visit to St. Petersburg where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kazakh national news agency Kazinform reported that Nazarbayev recently spoke with the presidents of Turkey and Iran and got their agreement to the plan.

Putin said on December 23 that Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had all agreed that neutral Kazakhstan should be the venue for new Syrian peace negotiations.

Putin said the front-line countries proved their effectiveness by arranging a cease-fire and evacuation of rebel forces and civilians from Aleppo last week, and they now are ready to try to broaden the cease-fire to the whole country and launch wider peace talks.

Russia, Iran and Turkey previously announced that they would stand as "guarantors" of any peace accord reached between the Syrian regime, which is allied with Tehran and Moscow, and rebel forces, many of which are allied with Turkey.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa</s>ISTANBUL: Turkey on Sunday deployed more tanks and artillery to the border with war-torn Syria, where Ankara is pressing a campaign to capture Daesh bastion, reports said.

Several tanks, military transport vehicles and at least 10 artillery units including cannons were sent to Oguzeli and Karkamis in southeastern Turkey, state news agency Anadolu reported.

The latest deployment came as Turkish forces tightened their grip around the Daesh bastion of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as Ankara-backed Syrian rebels and Turkish troops pressed a fierce assault to capture the town.

Sixteen Turkish soldiers were killed by Daesh in the battle for the flashpoint town Wednesday -- Ankara´s biggest loss so far since it launched its incursion into Syria in August.

The Turkish army said it killed 12 Daesh militants Sunday near Al-Bab, though it was not possible to independently verify the claim.

Syrian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said "Al-Bab is nearly finished", and reiterated a previous vow that Turkish forces would head next to the town of Manbij, a former bastion of Daesh that is now under the control of US-backed, Kurdish-led militia.

Ankara views Syria´s Kurdish forces -- which have played a lead role in the battle against Daesh -- as "terrorists" linked to a 30-year Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.

It has vowed not to take part in any international offensive to reclaim Raqa, Daesh´s main bastion in northern Syria, should Kurdish fighters take part.

Erdogan will discuss the issue with the incoming US administration after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January, Erdogan said.

Turkey beefs up forces on Syria border was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on December 26, 2016 and was last updated on December 26, 2016. This news story is related to Latest/174377-Turkey-beefs-up-forces-on-Syria-border/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Turkey beefs up forces on Syria border" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/174377-Turkey-beefs-up-forces-on-Syria-border.</s>"The joint statement says that the three countries agree, but who wants to, may also join… in particular, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar," the source told RIA Novosti.

The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey discussed in Moscow on December 20 the situation in Syria, including Aleppo. Given the involvement of all three countries' military officials in the events in Syria, the defense ministers joined the negotiations.

After the talks, the ministers said it was important to expand the ceasefire regime in Syria and voiced readiness to become the guarantors of an agreement between Damascus and the opposition that was being drafted. Besides, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed a joint statement to revive the political process to end the conflict in Syria. The document reaffirms respect for Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!</s>President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday expressed readiness to host Syrian peace talks in Astana.

“The Astana process will be in addition to the United Nations process. Turkey, Russia and İran will be guarantor countries, but the Syrian regime and opposition will negotiate,” Ibrahim Kalın said at a press conference in Ankara as quoted by website Turkish Minute.

The spokesman added that Turkey is advocating that the ceasefire in Aleppo to be implemented throughout Syria.

The opposition and Damascus, along with the mediators, have been engaged in UN-brokered settlement talks. The last round of intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva in April. The Syrian High Negotiations Committee opposition group walked out of the negotiations, citing the continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues.</s>ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Saudi Arabia and Qatar should join its meeting with Russia and Iran to discuss Syrian peace efforts.

Russia, Turkey and Iran, which helped broker the withdrawal of civilians and militants from the Syrian city of Aleppo, have agreed to hold talks on Syria in Kazakhstan next month.

Erdogan said Tuesday the meeting of foreign ministers should include Saudi Arabia and Qatar, saying they had "shown goodwill and given support" to Syria.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the main backers of rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is closely allied with Moscow and Tehran.

Erdogan added, however, that Turkey would not take part if any "terror organizations" are also invited, referring to Syrian Kurdish groups affiliated with Kurdish insurgents in Turkey.</s>Russia says will boost cooperation with Turkey, Iran on Syria - Interfax

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would work more closely with Turkey and Iran on the situation in Syria and said the three countries' cooperation had saved lives by helping to evacuate eastern Aleppo.

"We will further build our cooperation with Ankara, Tehran and other countries in the region on the Syrian question," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
CHP MP Öztürk Yılmaz says Turkey has expressed its readiness to work with president Assad of Syria.