President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a ceasefire agreed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime and opposition groups, as well as the upcoming Astana talks, in a phone conversation on Dec. 29. Erdoğan and Putin exchanged their views on the ceasefire agreement that is set to begin on Dec. 30, which could be brokered by the joint efforts of Ankara and Moscow as guarantor countries. The two leaders also spoke about the upcoming Astana talks expected to be held between the al-Assad regime and the opposition groups with the objective of facilitating a political transitional process to end six years of unrest in Syria. Turkey, Iran and Russia signed a joint declaration on Dec. 20 to launch a new process that would provide a nationwide cease-fire and a resolution to the conflict through political means.
