Russia intends to take part in a meeting of foreign ministers in the Astana format on Syria at Turkey's initiative in the near future. The statement was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to participants of the 11th Middle East Conference of the Valdai discussion club. The text of the address was read by Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President's Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister.
"The Astana format remains the most effective mechanism for the international support of the Syrian settlement, where we continue to cooperate with Turkish and Iranian partners. The 17th international meeting on Syria was held in Nur-Sultan in December 2021," the statement said. "In the near future, at the initiative of the Turkish side, we plan to reconcile hours at the ministerial level," Lavrov said in the message.
Lavrov also expressed hope for the restoration of Syria's membership in the Arab League "in the near future."
Earlier, a source at the Turkish MFA reported that Lavrov confirmed in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu his participation in a diplomatic forum to be held in Antalya on March 11-13, as well as in a meeting on Syria in the Astana format.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS