Russia, Turkey, Iran see US pullout from Syria as ‘positive step’: Putin

SOCHI, Russia: Moscow, Ankara and Tehran see the planned United States withdrawal from Syria as a positive step, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a summit with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts.

Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani agreed during the talks that the US pullout from northeastern Syria “would be a positive step that would help stabilise the situation in this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control”, he told a joint press conference. The three leaders met for talks Thursday on how to work more closely together in Syria as Washington prepares to withdraw its troops from the war-torn country. President Vladimir Putin hosted Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani for the talks in the southern city of Sochi. Russia and Iran — who both back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad — and rebel supporter Turkey have positioned themselves as the key foreign players in Syria’s long-running war. The eight-year conflict has left more than 360,000 dead. Meeting with Erdogan ahead of the summit, Putin said he was confident the talks would give a “new impulse” to efforts to resolve the conflict.