March 07, 2018•Update: March 07, 2018
By Enes Kaplan
ANKARA
The Turkish and Iranian leaders on Wednesday discussed recent developments in Syria, especially the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta, according to Turkish presidential sources.
In a phone conversation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani stressed that their nations plus Russia must work together to make the UN’s Syria cease-fire a reality, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The two leaders agreed to accelerate efforts to realize the cease-fire in order to end the tragedy in Eastern Ghouta and deliver humanitarian aid to civilians.
The presidents also exchanged views about the trilateral summit between Turkey, Iran, and Russia set for next month in Istanbul.
Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, has been under siege for the last five years, and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to some 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.
In the past eight months, Assad regime forces have intensified their siege, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district and leaving thousands of civilians in need.
On Feb. 24, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day cease-fire in Syria.
Despite the UN cease-fire resolution, at least 756 people have been killed in regime attacks in the besieged areas in the past two weeks, according to White Helmets civil defense agency.
