What’s on the agenda of Rouhani’s upcoming visit to Ankara?

Tabnak – While having stark differences on many basic issues regarding the Syrian conflict, Iran, Russia and Turkey are eager to continue their path of coordination and cooperation. In this vein, Ankara will host a fresh Russian-Iranian-Turkish summit to discuss latest developments in the war-torn Arab country.

According to a Press TV report, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is due in Ankara next week to hold the second round of talks with his Russian and Turkish counterparts about the latest developments in Syria.

Rouhani will leave Tehran for Ankara on Tuesday at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian president's deputy chief of staff for communications and information, Parviz Esmaeili, said on Saturday.

He added that the Iranian president would deliver a speech at the trilateral summit and hold separate meetings with Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss ways to develop regional and international cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as well as some other cabinet ministers will accompany President Rouhani during his trip, according to the Iranian president’s office. The Iranian delegation is scheduled to fly back to Tehran on Wednesday April 4.

Meanwhile, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports that besides regional developments and the ongoing Syrian war, the Turkish and Iranian leaders are also expected to hold talks to discuss bilateral relations. Ankara will also host the seventh meeting of the Turkey-Russia High-Level Cooperation Council with participants from Ankara and Moscow on April 3.

The Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents held a trilateral meeting on the Syrian crisis in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in November 2017. On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, convened in the Kazakh capital of Astana earlier this month and discussed the situation in Syria.

The Astana peace talks, which have usually involved delegations from the Syrian government and opposition, began in January 2017 with the mediation of Russia and Iran, two Syria's allies, as well as Turkey, which backs several armed opposition groups operating against Damascus. Together, the three countries have been acting as guarantor states for the peace process.

The Astana process came after the guarantor states helped bring a ceasefire to Syria’s second largest city of Aleppo, and then to the entire Arab country, which has been witnessing foreign-backed militancy since 2011.

It resulted in the establishment of four de-escalation zones across Syria in mid-September last year, and was hailed by the United Nations for its contribution to a parallel process, which the world body has been mediating between Damascus and the opposition in Geneva.