A summit of peace about Syria in Istanbul on October 27 2018

PARIS (Reuters) - A summit on Syria will bring Turkish leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron and Russia's Vladimir Putin together on October 27, the spokesman for the Turkish presidency said on Friday.

The situation in Idlib (north-west), the last bastion of the opposition, and the political process to end seven years of conflict, will be discussed during this meeting scheduled to last half a day said Ibrahim Kalin, quoted by the Anadolu agency.

In Berlin, a spokesman for the German government confirmed the participation of Angela Merkel. Vladimir Putin will also be there, the Kremlin said, quoted by the Interfax news agency, and he intends to discuss the issue of the return of refugees and reconstruction of infrastructure in Syria.

In Paris, the Elysee confirmed in a statement the arrival of Emmanuel Macron, stating that the priority of France was "to promote the maintenance of the ceasefire in the province of Idlib" and get the " effective launch of an inclusive political process ".

"If there is a military offensive Idlib by then, it will be estimated that the conditions are not met for this summit to be held," he warned in his entourage.

Seven years after the start of the conflict, which left more than 400,000 people dead, the Syrian regime managed, with the military help of its Russian ally, to regain control of a majority of its territory, with the exception of province of Idlib, located along the Turkish border.

The peace process is at a standstill. No discussion between the various parties has allowed in recent years to find a solution to the crisis and previous negotiations, including in Geneva under the auspices of the UN, have all stumbled on the question of the future of President Bashar al Assad and the establishment of the democratic transition.

CAUTION OF PARIS

"Our expectations (for the October 27 summit) are realistic, and it is considered an unprecedented step that can be useful if it helps to ensure security in northwestern Syria and to advance positively. discussions on the political process, "it adds. "If that's the case, it will have played a useful role."

"We remain cautious but determined to make the summit a step that will also help the UN mediation work at a particular moment" where the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is preparing to leave his functions end of November. "We would like this new team to start working from the conclusions of this Istanbul summit".

The major problem, according to the same source, "is that the Syrian regime refuses to negotiate and continues to resist pressure from the international community", including that exerted by Russia.

The situation in Idlib, the last bastion of the opposition where live three million civilians, raises the concern of the UN who warned against the catastrophic human toll that could result from a major assault of the regime and its allies.

While an offensive by Syrian pro-government forces seemed imminent, Moscow and Ankara finally reached an agreement on 17 September to create a buffer zone in that province from which heavy weapons were withdrawn.

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