Agencies – Moscow:
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran met in Moscow for negotiations at the largest level yet on restoring relations between Ankara and Damascus, after years of hostility since the start of the Syrian civil war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter that he stressed during the meeting the need to “cooperate in combating terrorism and work together to lay the foundations for the return of Syrian (refugees)”.
More than 3.5 million Syrian refugees live in Türkiye. Cavusoglu also said that the discussions also included “advancing the political process in Syria forward and protecting Syria’s territorial integrity.”
Turkey, a NATO member, has supported political and armed opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 12-year-old civil war, and has sent troops into northern Syria. A small area in northwest Syria is controlled by rival armed groups, including militant groups and jihadist factions backed by Turkey. It is not yet clear whether the meeting yielded any tangible results.
The Syrian and Turkish defense ministers held talks in Moscow last December.
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