Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani to mull Syrian crisis

On July 1, the presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran - Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hassan Rouhani - will hold a videoconference to discuss recent developments in Syria, according to a statement by the Kremlin.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three leaders will make separate statements before holding private talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had previously said that the summit would proceed with a face-to-face summit in Tehran.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the video conference will see Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani make "three statements" before discussing Syria in private.

The Astana process was initiated by Turkey, Iran, and Russia to bring the warring sides in Syria together to find a permanent solution to the nine-year-long war. The main agenda items have been the constitutional system, the political transition, security, and resettlement. The first meeting of the Astana process was in Turkey in January 2017 to facilitate United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.