Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad will address the issue of relations between Damascus and Ankara at talks in Moscow, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"No doubt, the topic of Syrian-Turkish relations will certainly be touched upon today in one way or another," the Kremlin spokesman said. This is how he responded to a question about how Russian-Syrian talks will affect the likelihood of a meeting between al-Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Peskov, the Russian and Syrian leaders will mainly discuss bilateral relations and aspects of the settlement in the republic on Wednesday. "Here, bilateral Russian-Syrian relations, interaction during the post-war reconstruction of the Syrian Arab Republic, continued Syrian settlement as such, including all aspects, with a focus on the absolute priority of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, are primarily at the top of the agenda," he pointed out.
The presidents' talks are scheduled to begin after 3 p.m. Moscow time.
"We expect the start of Russian-Syrian talks in delegations somewhere after 3 p.m., then there will be communication between the two presidents over a working breakfast. The two presidents will talk face to face," Peskov said.
Al-Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday evening. He was met at Vnukovo Airport by Russian Presidential Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Bashar Jaafari and Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Yefimov. Putin and al-Assad last met in September 2021, when the Syrian president also visited Moscow.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS