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MOSCOW, Nov. 23-- Russia, Iran and Turkey face the arduous task of ironing out the drastically different positions of the stakeholders during a peace process in war-torn Syria initiated by the troika in a symbolic meeting Wednesday. The presidents of the three countries agreed in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi to shift their focus to a political settlement as the Islamic State terrorists are being expelled from Syria by Damascus troops backed by Russian warplanes. The three leaders in a joint statement expressed support for "a broad intra-Syrian dialogue" among all segments of Syrian society, calling on representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to participate constructively in the upcoming Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi. "The agreements between Russia, Turkey and Iran are a proof of the fact that they have taken the initiative to solve Syria's crisis and will not give it up," said Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee. PRODUCTIVE MEETING The joint statement issued after the Sochi summit "has laid a practical basis" for the beginning of a political process in Syria, said Elena Suponina, an advisor to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. It was very difficult to bring together the positions of these countries and many did not believe that Turkey and Iran could sit at the same table and agree on something, let alone begin practical work, she said. | 
