Iran, Turkey, Syria, Russia to hold four-way talks
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Hashim Sheikh
- . March 11, 2023
- . Update: March 11, 2023 10:12 pm
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Turkey, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Russia are set to hold low-level talks in Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia.
The deputy foreign ministers of these four countries will meet in Moscow next week in a bid to continue the political dialogue between the countries’ four foreign ministers.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, asked if Tehran could join the talks in Russia. Cavusoglu agreed and allowed Iran to join the three-way talks as a fourth party. He said at a joint news conference with Amir-Abdollahian, “A meeting at the level of foreign ministers could be held at a later stage, at a time that we all see fit.”
Reportedly, the four countries are currently preparing for a possible ministerial meeting between Turkish Minister Cavusoglu and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in a four-way format. The Turkish Minister revealed, “Russia has offered to hold technical talks next week in preparation for a possible meeting between the foreign ministers.”
Read | Syria’s diplomatic relations to be restored by Tunisia’s Saied
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey said that he would send a deputy foreign minister to Moscow next week. The Iranian minister said that he was willing to help resolve the disagreements between Turkey and Syria.
Recently, Russian Ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, also said during Irbil Forum that Syria and Turkey must reconcile. Russia urged Turkey and Syria to normalise ties.
Russia sponsored a normalisation path between the two countries, marking the first high-level meeting between Turkey and Syria since the war in Syria began in 2011.
After devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria on February 6, Turkey helped to deliver international aid to earthquake victims in Syria.
Reportedly, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is also expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.
