Turkey, Iran, Russia urge Syrian peace process free of foreign interference

The Syrian Constitutional Committee should work independently from "foreign interference" and gather the broadest possible support among Syrians across the board, a statement from Turkey, Iran and Russia said. 

Following consultations on the margins of the fifth meeting of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the three countries released a joint statement on Thursday reaffirming their support for a sovereign, independent and united Syria.

The committee should aim to develop a consensus between its members to gather the broadest possible support among Syrians, the statement said.

Welcoming the fifth meeting of the committee in Geneva, the statement underlined that the body had been created by the Astana guarantor nations to support efforts for a political and peaceful solution to the fighting.

The next international meeting on Syria in the Astana format will take place in Sochi on February 16-17, 2021, the statement concluded.

The three states urged the committee to seek compromise and consensus among the sides to the decade-long civil war.

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The Astana peace process to end the Syrian conflict was launched in January 2017 by Turkey, Russia and Iran.

Syria has been ravaged by a multifaceted civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

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