By ISW Syria Team and Syria Direct
Turkey, Russia, and Iran released a joint statement - termed the ‘Moscow
Declaration’ - noting that all three countries agree to “facilitate and become
the guarantors” of any political agreement to end the Syrian Civil War
following a trilateral meeting in Moscow, Russia on December 20. The statement
also noted that all three countries “reiterate their determination” to fight
against ISIS and Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra as well as separate
both factions from other “armed opposition groups” in Syria. The meeting
occurred as scheduled despite the assassination of the Russian Ambassador to
Turkey in Ankara on December 19. Meanwhile, pro-regime forces announced their
full control over Aleppo City on December 22 following the last evacuations
from the remaining opposition-held districts of Eastern Aleppo City. The
evacuations faced repeated delays due to poor weather conditions as well as
last-minute demands by Iran for parallel evacuations from the besieged
pro-regime towns of Fu’ah and Kefraya in Idlib Province. The final deal included
phased parallel evacuations for the two towns as well as two besieged
opposition-held towns near Damascus.
This graphic marks the latest installment of our Syria SITREP Map made possible through a partnership between the Institute for the Study of War and Syria Direct. The graphic depicts significant recent developments in the Syrian Civil War. The control of terrain represented on the graphic is accurate as of December 19, 2016.
