Some quick Syria and area news...Another bombing at Reyhanli, Turkey- Long, long time readers may recall a big twin bombing taking place in 2013-- that one was a warning, a shot across the bow to Turkey. Of course, I wonder about the possible purpose behind this second one?
The (latest) blast took place less than a kilometre from the Reyhanli district governor's office around 1000 GMT, state news Anadolu Agency reported.
A twin car bombing in May 2013 in Reyhanli killed over 50 people in one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey's modern history.
"The meeting will mainly be on Idlib and other parts of Syria, on the general security situation, transition processes, constitutional commission and resettlement," he said after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Daily Sabah reported on Thursday.Kalin also said that there would be another meeting with Russian, German and French leaders in two months.
"During the G20 summit it was agreed upon that a four-party summit just like the one from last year will be held in Istanbul hosted by our president. A quadruple summit is planned before going to the UN General Assembly," he said.
Kalin said Syria and regional issues will be discussed in these meetings.Turkey, Russia and Iran are cooperating as part of the Astana process to bring peace and stability to war-torn Syria. Officials from the three countries most recently met in the newly renamed Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan in April.
The first meeting of the Astana process was in Turkey in January 2017 to bring all warring parties in the Syrian conflict to the table to facilitate UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.
The Astana talks support the establishment of a UN-backed constitutional committee in Syria to find a political solution.
“It’s a very difficult situation,” the envoy said. “I hope that the cooperation between Russia and Turkey will help to stabilize the situation in Idlib.”
TASS: Situation in Idlib and in northeastern Syria in focus of Lavrov’s talks with UN envoy Lavrov and Pederson
"The sides discussed in detail the current situation 'on the ground' in Syria amidst an outburst of terrorist activities in Idlib and ongoing tensions in Syria’s northeastern part. In this context, they stressed the importance of lasting stabilization in and around Syria as grounded in respect to its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the ministry said.The sides also agreed that it is necessary to continue providing humanitarian assistance to Syria with view to its post-conflict revival and creating proper conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons to places of their permanent residence.According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Pedersen also discussed the developments relating to the political process with a focus on the formation and launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee. "The sides agreed that the launch of the committee will make it possible to begin a direct intra-Syrian dialogue so that Syrians themselves could decide on the parameters of the final settlement in Syria and on the future of their country, as is envisaged in United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2254 and the resolutions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi," the ministry noted.