Top diplomats of Russia, Iran, Syria, Turkey likely to meet in Moscow: Ankara

“The meeting of delegations at the level of the deputy foreign ministers of the four countries in Moscow was dedicated to preparing a meeting at the level of top diplomats. During the upcoming period, this meeting may be held in Moscow, we are waiting for an invitation from the Russian side,” the top diplomat said at a press conference in Brussels broadcast on his Twitter page.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the senior diplomats of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey discussed the planning for a four-party ministerial meeting during consultations in Moscow on April 3-4.

Consultations between the defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkey took place in Moscow on December 28, 2022, as part of efforts to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus. The meeting’s participants reached an agreement to create a trilateral commission. A meeting between top diplomats is expected to follow the consultations to discuss the possibility of talks between Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar Assad of Syria. Later, it was reported that Iran would join the consultations at the level of foreign ministries.

Erdogan told reporters on December 15, 2022, that he had suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin host a trilateral meeting involving the Syrian president, adding that the summit should be preceded by a meeting between officials from intelligence agencies, defense and foreign ministries.