Turkey's president on Wednesday said Syria's territorial integrity depends on keeping all terror groups at bay.
"Sustaining Syria's territorial integrity depends on setting the same distance towards all terror groups," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said following the tripartite summit on Syria.
The summit was held in the capital Ankara with the participation of the Turkish, Russian, and Iranian presidents.
In a joint news conference afterwards, Erdoğan said Turkey is taking necessary care to fulfil its responsibilities on de-escalation zones.
On the summit, Erdoğan said the leaders determined steps that will be taken in the coming days to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Mentioning how the first tripartite summit was held in Sochi, Russia last November, Erdoğan said the Ankara summit would be followed by a third summit in Tehran.
"The main aim of the tripartite summits is to rebuild a Syria where peace prevails," he added.
Last year's Sochi summit discussed progress made in the Astana, Kazakhstan peace talks and changes in de-escalation zones across Syria.
On Syria's ongoing humanitarian crisis, Erdoğan said: "The losers of the crises and conflicts are the Syrian people; we all know very well who the winners are."
"We invested $31 billion with the help of our nongovernmental organizations," Erdoğan said, adding that Turkey is taking care of 160,000 Syrians who returned to their homes in Jarablus, Al-Rai, and Al-Bab.
Erdoğan criticized the European Union for not keeping its promise to pay €3 billion euros to aid Syrian refugees in Turkey, adding: "However, we will continue our investments here whether we receive it or not, as we feel obligated to do so."
"Turkey values solidarity with Russia and Iran over our Afrin operation," said Erdoğan, adding that grounds for peace in Afrin would be established in cooperation with intelligence agencies, army chiefs, and ministers of the three countries.
Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, northwestern Syria on Jan. 20 in the face of growing YPG/PKK terrorist threats from the region.
He expressed Turkey's readiness to take action in the northern Syrian city of Tal Rifaat along with Russia and Iran to build a peaceful environment for its residents.
Erdoğan said: "I find it useful to repeat it here once again that we [Turkey] will not stop until all regions under PYD/PKK control, primarily Manbij, are secured … We will never allow either Syria or our region to be attacked by a few terrorist groups."
- ROUHANI: EVERYBODY MUST RECOGNIZE SYRIA'S UNITY
"No understanding that fails to accept that Daesh and PYD/YPG serve the same aim can ever contribute to lasting peace and stability in Syria," Erdoğan said, adding that initially a path for Daesh was paved in efforts to sow chaos, then later the YPG/PYD was placed in Syria using counter-terrorism efforts as an excuse.
"That way the terror-cycle was completed," he asserted.
Erdoğan called on the international community to support a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
"We call on the international community once again to support efforts to reach a fair and practicable political solution to the Syrian issue."
For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said: "We want everybody to recognize the unity of Syria."
"We particularly emphasize that everybody should take Syria's territorial integrity and national sovereignty into consideration," Rouhani said.
"No country has the right to decide on the future of Syria. It concerns only the Syrian people and belongs to them," he stressed.
Saying the primary aim of Turkey, Iran and Russia is restoring peace and security to the region, Rouhani said the three want to expand aid to oppressed Syrians.
Rouhani also emphasized the leading role of the three countries in counter-terrorism activities in Syria.
- 'TURKEY, RUSSIA, IRAN TO ENSURE SYRIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "The joint decision of Turkey, Russia and Iran is to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty."
He added that the three leaders discussed how to establish permanent normalization in Syria.
Describing the joint decision as "a principal attitude," Putin said for years certain circles had been fueling sectarian and ethnic conflicts in the Middle East.
Putin said the three leaders agreed to continue the tripartite cooperation, saying its effectiveness was provided by the Astana format.
Putin underlined that violence in Syria had been reduced considerably as a result of the cooperation of Turkey, Russia, and Iran as guarantor countries, adding that Daesh's main terrorist forces in Syria were defeated and the military forces of other terror groups were destroyed.
Backing Erdoğan's call for imminent humanitarian aid in Syria, Putin said Iran's president also supports the proposal.
"We will work on that and take concrete steps," Putin said.
He pointed to Russia's efforts to develop Syria's social and economic infrastructure.
"Russian companies are developing some projects in areas once occupied by the terrorists ... who were trying to damage our efforts to enhance the peace process in the region."
