Turkey, Iran, Russia on Wednesday call for lasting ceasefire, territorial integrity in Syria. (Xinhua Photo)
ANKARA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran on Wednesday called for a "lasting ceasefire" in Syria and expressed their commitment to the territorial integrity of the war-torn country during a trilateral summit in capital Ankara.
"As guarantor countries, we have a common understanding for Syria's territorial integrity and rebuilding," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference following the trilateral summit.
"The main aim of tripartite summit is to rebuild a Syria where peace prevails," he added.
Erdogan endorsed the importance of Syria's territorial integrity and underlined Turkey had to take military action against Kurdish militia in Syria over security threats posed to its borders.
The Turkish president expressed Ankara's readiness to take action in the northern Syrian city of Tal Rifaat along with Russia and Iran to build a peaceful environment for its residents.
He also proposed to set up military hospitals in cooperation of Turkish and Russian armies for those evacuated from Eastern Ghouta.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed that main objectives for Syria should be the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also reiterated Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty and warned against provocations to fuel up ethnical and sectarian clashes.
A trilateral summit on Syria was held on Wednesday in the capital Ankara with the participation of Turkish, Russian and Iranian presidents.
The closed-door meeting lasted around one hour and 40 minutes, during which the leaders discussed steps that will be taken in the coming days to resolve the Syrian crisis.
The first such tripartite summit was held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Nov. 22,2017 to discuss progress made in the Astana peace talks and changes in Syria's de-escalation zones.
