"Many approaches, but a shared goal", Kremlin on upcoming Istanbul summit

While taking different approaches to the situation in Syria, the participants in the forthcoming four-nation summit in Istanbul (Russia, Germany, Turkey and France) hope for a settlement, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

"There are many approaches. In general, everybody wants to see a political settlement in Syria. This is a shared goal, though certain disagreements may exist regarding the instruments and tactics," he explained. "It is on all these issues that the watches will be synchronized tomorrow."

When asked about the issues on the agenda of the summit, Peskov said that it would be the first meeting in this format, so it was hard to say anything definite right off the bat about the specific subjects.

"France and Germany had participated in discussing Syria’s problems under a different method. The issue of the day is to reconcile different formats in order to synchronize our watches, to negotiate, and to attempt to identify common topics. It is hard to say right away what subjects will be touched upon. It will be the first discussion of this kind."
Istanbul summit

According to earlier reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a working visit to Istanbul on October 27 for a meeting with the leaders of Germany, Turkey and France.

The participants are going to exchange opinions on Syria’s problems, including progress in the political settlement process, further steps in the interests of security and stability, creation of conditions for the repatriation of refugees and the reconstruction of socio-economic infrastructure, the Kremlin said.

A number of other crucial international issues will be considered. Also, bilateral conversations will be held.

The idea of such a summit was proposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan back last summer. Russia welcomed this initiative. A group of foreign affairs aides of the Russian, German, Turkish and French leaders met in Istanbul in the middle of September to discuss the summit’s likely agenda.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said earlier that taking part in the summit will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Kalin said the summit was expected to coordinate joint efforts for a settlement of the situation on site, implementation of the agreements on Idlib, the political process and all other aspects of the Syrian conflict. Joint efforts, he said, should be aimed at identifying ways of achieving a long-term settlement of the crisis in Syria.