Erdogan calls on Saudi, US to join Astana process on Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called urged the United States of the America and Saudi Arabia to join the Astana talks to help bring peace to Syria, the Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

“We have worked with Russia and Iran during Astana talks. We are calling for Saudi Arabia and United States to take part in those talks,” Erdogan said in an interview with Portuguese broadcaster RTP late on Thursday.

The negotiations were launched by Turkey, Russia and Iran in January when representatives of the Assad regime and opposition groups were brought together in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.

Erdogan added “it is impossible to resolve the crises in Syria and Iraq without Iran’s mediation.” Noting “that Tehran supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Ankara supported the Syrian opposition.”

According to reports, four rounds of the negotiations took place on January 23-24, February 15-16, March 14-15 and May 3-4. A fifth round was expected to be held on June 12-13, but has been postponed.

Erdoğan also addressed Turkey’s support for Qatar as the country faces a diplomatic and economic blockade by Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen.

“I see that the blockade against Qatar is not right,” he said. “We did not accept any kind of embargo against Qatar. I have made lots of phone calls with other world leaders to explain the issue to them.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Erdogan underlined Iran’s role in settling regional crises, saying, “You cannot solve issues in Syria and in Iraq without Iran.”

He further voiced his disapproval of what he described as “Persian expansionism,” saying, there were issues on which Ankara “gets along with Iran,” and others on which it does not.

“This does not mean that Turkey has the same approach to Iran as the United States,” he stressed.