Photo: belta.by

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko took part in an informal meeting with the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

The meeting took place in the shape of a tea party in the Rus Sanatorium. Prior to that Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hassan Rouhani had held another trilateral summit to discuss Syrian affairs. Russia, Iran, and Turkey are the countries standing as guarantors of the Astana process for resolving the conflict in Syria.

Plans to arrange a meeting involving the four presidents were revealed the day before. The Belarusian head of state’s working visit to Russia coincided with the summit. It offered a good opportunity to discuss pressing issues on the international agenda in a broader format. All the more so because Belarus maintains long-term friendly relations in politics, trade, economy, and humanitarian affairs not only with Russia but also with Turkey, and Iran. With its peacemaking venue status Belarus has always been forthright about the need to resolve local conflicts as fast as possible and counteract terrorism.