Four-nation Syria Summit Calls for Lasting Idlib Ceasefire

The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany on Saturday called for a political solution to Syria's devastating seven-year civil war and a lasting ceasefire in the last major rebel-held bastion of Idlib, reports AFP.

A joint statement adopted at the end of a major summit in Istanbul said the countries were committed to working "together in order to create conditions for peace and stability in Syria".

It also "stressed the importance of a lasting ceasefire" in Idlib, while hailing "progress" following a deal last month between Syrian-regime supporter Russia and rebel-backer Turkey to create a buffer zone around the northwestern province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke for several hours with Russia's Vladimir Putin, France's Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the Syrian conflict, in which more than 360,000 people have been killed since 2011.