PM Yıldırım: Truce a base for lasting peace in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has described the truce reached between the Syrian regime and the opposition groups as a "base for negotiations on a lasting peace" in the war-torn country, reiterating Ankara's call for other prominent actors to join the Turkish-Russian efforts. 

"The next step will be political talks. The parties will sit around the same table and will agree on Syria's unity and togetherness. This truce stands as the base of this. The most important outcome of this truce is that it provided this base for peace talks," Yıldırım told daily Hürriyet on Dec 30. 

"There is now a base to talk about the future. Turkey has made a great contribution to it," he added. 

Ankara and Moscow brokered a nationwide ceasefire starting from Dec. 30 in Syria after lengthy diplomatic efforts, as two guarantor countries of the agreement between two fighting groups. The two parties have also agreed to meet in Astana and discuss a road map for a political transition in the country.  

"Our objective is to prevent the death of even one innocent person. Even this alone is very important. This is a beginning. But its advanced stages are more important," Yıldırım stated, adding that the process should not be left to the leadership of only Turkey and Russia. 

"Iran is also in this loop, but we want all actors - the United States, coalition forces and all other regional countries - to be more active. The U.N. is also important," he said. 

Prime Minister Yıldırım also hailed the role played by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in brokering the truce agreement, saying the president had "very active telephone diplomacy" with his interlocutors. 

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