In his remarks at a meeting with students and faculty at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov highlighted that discussions are ongoing among Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iran regarding the roadmap for normalizing relations between Damascus and Ankara.
Lavrov underscored that the process of normalizing relations between Damascus and Ankara was initiated in 2022. It commenced with preliminary contacts involving the Ministries of Defense and specialized intelligence services. These interactions were strategically designed to lay the groundwork for a significant diplomatic summit. Notably, Iran, a participant in the Astana format, has also expressed a keen interest in becoming part of this diplomatic framework, which is focused on establishing favorable conditions for the normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey.
As a result, after preparations, the foreign ministers of the four countries met in April. "We adopted a statement expressing our interest in working out a roadmap for normalization between Syria and Turkey. We handed over the draft roadmap to all our colleagues sometime in June," - Lavrov said. - "Now we are continuing contacts to bring it to a generally acceptable state, when it could be approved."
Following a quadrilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey on May 10 in Moscow, it was decided to instruct their deputies to prepare a roadmap for developing relations between Damascus and Ankara. During the June 20-21 meeting on Syria in the Astana format, the parties discussed the draft roadmap, according to Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president's special envoy for the Syrian settlement. He added that the document requires further formalization.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS