Turkey’s, Syria’s, Russia’s, and Iran’s foreign ministries gathered in Moscow on Wednesday, the highest-level discussions so far on repairing ties between Ankara and Damascus after years of hostility during Syria’s civil war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated in a tweet that he highlighted the need of “cooperation in the fight against terrorism and working together to establish the basis for the return of Syrians” during the discussion.
During Syria’s 12-year civil conflict, NATO member Turkey has backed political and armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, and has moved its own forces into the country’s north. It also hosts over 3.5 million refugees from its neighbor.
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Other topics covered, according to Cavusoglu, were “moving the Syrian political process forward and protecting Syria’s territorial integrity.”
Syria’s foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, was cited by Syria’s state news agency SANA as stating that “despite all the negatives of the past years, there is an opportunity” for Damascus and Ankara to collaborate.
However, Mekdad stated that the objective for Syria was to terminate the unlawful presence of all foreign troops, including Turkey’s.
A sliver of land in Syria’s northwest is held by competing militias, including hardline armed organizations and Islamist elements backed by Turkey.
“We will remain stagnant and will not achieve any real results unless we make progress in this matter,” Mekdad was reported as saying.
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry claimed there was a “positive and constructive atmosphere” and that the nations’ deputy foreign ministers would be entrusted with developing a plan to enhance Syria-Turkey relations.
In December, Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met in Moscow.
Moscow is Assad’s principal friend, and Russia has pressed Turkey to reconcile. Assad was invited on Wednesday to attend the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia on May 19, a significant indicator that Damascus’ regional isolation has eased.
Ece Toksabay contributed reporting. Alexandra Hudson did the editing.
