TEHRAN (Reuters) - The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Friday failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall a Syrian government offensive in the rebel-held Idlib province which the United Nations fears could cause a humanitarian catastrophe involving tens of thousands of civilians. Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, meeting in Tehran for a summit of key foreign players in Syria’s war, agreed in a final statement that there could be no military solution to the conflict and it could only end through a negotiated political process. Russia has been a key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has indicated its support for Assad to regain control of Idlib which is the last remaining bastion of the opposition

Turkey's president is calling for a cease-fire and an end to airstrikes amid a looming campaign for Syria's Idlib province. Nonetheless, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani will be making decisions on what could be a turning point in a seven-year-old war which has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes.
The presidents of Russia and Iran disagree with the Turkish president's proposal for a ceasefire in Idlib after meeting in Tehran, because it would not include the Islamist militants those nations aim to defeat.