Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu held telephone talks, during which they stressed the importance of preparing the Astana Troika summit on Syria (Russia, Iran, Turkey) in Tehran.
This is stated in a statement on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The ministers reaffirmed their countries’ resolve to continue to strengthen interaction aimed at a comprehensive settlement of the Syrian crisis with international support and in accordance with the related UN Security Council resolutions. In this context, they reaffirmed the commitment of the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran to the agreements as the guarantor countries of the Astana format. The ministers noted the importance of preparing the next Astana summit meeting of the three leaders which is scheduled to take place in Tehran. They also agreed to continue working to implement the protocol on the Idlib de-escalation zone signed by the presidents of Russia and Turkey on March 5, 2020, which includes the neutralization of the terrorist groups operating there," the message reads in particular.
Earlier, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Mousavi, expressed hope that the summit in Tehran would be held after the normalization of the situation with the coronavirus in the world.
If this process is delayed, Mousavi did not rule out holding an online conference but indicated that Iran expects to hold a face-to-face meeting.
Earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a telephone conversation supported the idea of his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, who proposed to hold a summit of the Astana Troika in the format of a video conference. The Foreign Ministers of the guarantor countries of the Astana process have previously held consultations in this format.
At the talks on March 5 in Moscow, Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on the introduction of a cease-fire in the North-West of Syria. The agreements they reached stipulated that the fighting in Idlib would cease along the entire line of contact with the entry into force of the truce on March 6. Since March 15, Russian and Turkish military personnel have begun joint patrols along the Aleppo - Latakia highway (M-4), along which a security corridor will be created.
Separately, Foreign Ministers of Russia and Turkey, following a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held a detailed exchange of views on the current situation in Libya.
"They pointed out the importance of ending hostilities without delay and relaunching the UN-led political process, with the necessary participation of the Libyan parties in order to settle the crisis on the basis of the decisions made at the Berlin conference and approved by a UN Security Council resolution," the Russian MFA's message reads.
The parties also discussed the further development of bilateral relations, including mutual support in the battle against the coronavirus infection and in organizing the return home of Russian and Turkish citizens. "They have agreed to maintain close ties on the entire range of international and regional issues," the message stresses.
Lavrov and Cavusoglu expressed satisfaction with the events held by the two countries’ cultural and public organizations on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazism. The interlocutors also touched upon the issues of resolving the crisis in Eastern Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk Package of Measures, exchanging views on the current OSCE objectives in this direction.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry