The Sochi conference, held with the participation of the Presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey on 14 February, is, in fact, the last meeting of the series of meetings of the guarantor countries in the Syrian case. At the one-day Sochi meeting in Russia, the fourth meeting of the Presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey with the focus on the joint struggle against regional terrorism and restoration of calm and political stability in Syria, the results of the negotiations called the Astana Process and the beginning of domestic political trends, territorial integrity, sovereignty of the will of the people of Syria as well as cooperation during reconstruction of the country were discussed. At the end of the conference, a 17-point statement was issued by Iran, Russia, and Turkey in which the sides underscored the closer coordination of their efforts to achieve these agreements.

Addressing the meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed that all the three countries agreed that control of the entire country should be in the hands of the central government.

At the same time, the Sochi meeting has had numerous achievements in the regional arena, as well as inside Syria. Most importantly, it displayed the continuation of a two-year move that has created a political current independent of the intervention and presence of the US and its allies in the region.

Currently, the control of the province of Idlib, some areas in the northern parts of the country, as well as the eastern part of the Euphrates River, is not in the hands of the Syrian government. Turkey and the United States have control over parts of the country.

In his speech in Sochi, the Iranian President also commented on the agreement between Adlib accord between Turkey and Russia in September last year and said: “We also supported the agreement. Undoubtedly, the main objective of the Astana guarantor countries in this agreement and supporting its implementation is to avoid the occurrence of an inclusive humanitarian crisis in the Idlib region. But we should examine the implementation of this agreement and decide on the latest developments regarding future steps.”

Adlib agreement was actually reached due to the worries Turkey had over the presence of the Syrian Kurdish democratic group, which led the Russians to negotiate with these forces and convinced them to retreat within 30 kilometers of the Syrian border and the Syrian government forces be deployed on the border areas of Idlib. This agreement is, in fact, the same as Adana accord provisions.

The meeting was a continuation of the talks that were held in Astana about two years ago after having left behind many obstacles and despite the presence of strong currents that intended to halt the process by causing division among  Iran, Russia and Turkey under any circumstances possible it went ahead effectively.

Indeed, what is seen today in the Syrian scene as a political solution should be regarded as the outcome of a series of meetings, the latest of which was witnessed in Sochi.

Therefore, what came to the scene at the meeting was the understanding and alignment of the three countries of Iran, Russia, and Turkey, which are among the most influential countries in the trend of the developments in Syria and are regarded a powerful front against the Hebrew-Arab-West alliance. And this is happening under conditions that Washington is inevitably leaving Syria, or in better words, is fleeing Syria, and the terrorist and Takfiri groups backed by the region’s reactionary regimes are facing difficult conditions.

At Sochi meeting, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but with the efforts of Iran and Russia, provisions were included in the final statement, which would prevent any abusive exploitation of the gap resulting from the withdrawal of American forces. Because in the Sochi conference statement, the issue of territorial integrity of Syria and respect for its sovereignty were underscored more than ever, and thus any new military intervention in the border areas of the country, as well as similar movements, would be contrary to the will of the three countries and in violation of the international rules.

At the same time, the authorities in Ankara, due to a series of worries caused by the movements of the Kurdish groups, were seeking to create a buffer zone on the common borders with Syria through the inclusion of provisions in the Sochi Memorandum and what could still be done to make possible new movements of terrorist and Takfiri groups. But with the efforts of Tehran and Moscow, it was planned, based on the agreement of Idlib, that the three countries will carry out operations against the remaining terrorists in the area and that Turkey will withdraw its troops from the region.