Alwaght- Iran, Russia and Turkey have rejected any attempt to split Syria on ethnic and religious grounds terming such moves unacceptable.
"We agreed that attempts to split Syria on ethnic and religious grounds were totally unacceptable," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday following a meeting with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts - Mohammad Javad Zarif and Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"We have stated that we will counter attempts to undermine our joint efforts and pointed out that the Astana process is stable," he said.
Attempts are being made to hinder the peace process in Syria, particularly to prevent the establishment of a constitutional committee, Lavrov said.
"The developments of the recent weeks show that not everyone wants peace to be restored in Syria. Every time hope arises, a strike is carried out on it," Lavrov said. "We have to point to ongoing attempts to prevent dialogue among Syrians and the establishment of a constitutional committee in accordance with decisions made at the Sochi event, which were supported by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, who participated in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi," the Russian top diplomat added.
"It turns out that were create and build, while our counterparts seek to destroy the results of our joint constructive efforts, even violating international law, just like the US, Great Britain and France did when they carried out an attack on Syria on April 14," Lavrov said.
According to him, the trilateral attack "not only significantly raised tensions on the international stage but also considerably damaged the prospects for a political settlement."
The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey are determined to urgently agree further steps within the framework of the Astana process towards a settlement in Syria.
"We agreed to hold this early Astana process meeting at the foreign minister level to discuss the no simple situation in Syria and around it," Lavrov said. " We believe it is necessary to urgently agree collective measures within the framework of the Astana format we created more than a year ago to keep moving Syria towards peace and normalization in these difficult conditions."
