France disappoints Erdogan in polishing his image

NEWS DESK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's hopes of holding a quadripartite summit on Syria have dwindled after France played down the chances of holding the summit, saying that the time was not right to hold it at a time when Erdogan was betting on it to polish his image and show his cohesion in the face of US sanctions.

The Elysee Palace said on Friday that Erdogan's summit on Syria appeared not to be taking place at this time.

A source at the French presidency said that the seventh of September as the date for the summit attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel "is a relatively early date for a summit at this level."

Al-Arab newspaper reported on the Turkish issue that holding a summit on Syria in Istanbul, and in a situation where the negotiations of the political solution did not achieve any progress, will not achieve any addition in the absence of other influential bodies such as the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, Iran and the United States, That the summit would look formal if it were made without guaranteeing its success.

Russia, along with Iran and Turkey, have so far failed to reach a political solution that has the satisfaction of various international parties, which do not see the Moscow-sponsored field compromises sufficient to end the Syrian crisis and the adventure of returning millions of Syrian refugees to their country in a mysterious security and political situation.

"Looking at the return of the refugees under the current circumstances is a delusion," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnès Von der Mühll said on Thursday.

The United States said its presence in Syria would continue to counter the IS gangs’ threat and concern over the presence of Iranian factions and forces.

Several meetings of Russian and US officials failed to agree on a unified strategy to ensure Iran's withdrawal from Syria. Washington is also committed to supporting SDF despite the uproar caused by Turkey's position and has strained relations with Washington.

(T/S)

ANHA