Preparations for a meeting of Russian, Iranian, Syrian and Turkish foreign ministers to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus are underway, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday at a press conference following talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"A meeting at the level of foreign ministers needs to be prepared. The meeting of our deputies in the Russian capital was devoted to this event. Preparation also includes agreeing on dates that will be generally acceptable to all four ministers," Lavrov said in response to a question from TASS.
According to the minister, the very fact that meetings in the format of defense ministers, heads of special services, and deputy foreign ministers have been taking place since December 2022 indicates that the normalization process has begun. "This process, as we both emphasized, cannot be a one-step process. As we say, such issues are not solved in one sitting. We need to build contacts, build trust, increase transparency, but also agree on how to eventually find a balance between the legitimate interests of the participants in this process," Lavrov pointed out.
Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry reported that the deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey at consultations in Moscow on April 3-4 discussed the preparation of a four-party meeting at the ministerial level.
The process of normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus was launched on December 28, 2022, in Moscow, when consultations of the heads of the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense ministries were held. At the meeting, an agreement was reached to create a joint trilateral commission. These consultations are to be followed by a meeting at the level of foreign ministers, the agenda of which will include holding talks between Turkish and Syrian Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad. Later, it was reported that Iran will take part in the consultations at the level of foreign ministers.
Erdogan told reporters last December 15 that he had offered his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to hold a trilateral meeting with the Syrian leader. This summit, he said, should be preceded by talks at the level of representatives of special services, defense and foreign ministers.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Based on materials from TASS