Russia’s FM talks about imminent quadripartite meeting on Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, announced on Saturday that Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iran are preparing to hold a meeting soon, aimed at normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus.
In an interview with RT television, Lavrov highlighted the collaborative efforts of both foreign and defense ministries of Syrian government and Turkey in organizing previous talks last year, which also involved special agencies.
“We believe it’s time to plan another meeting,” Lavrov said, expressing confidence that such a gathering will occur in the near future.
Lavrov also noted that while Turkey has signaled its willingness to discuss the withdrawal of its military forces from Syria, the details of the timeline are still under negotiation.
On Saturday, Turkish Minister of Defense, Yasar Guler, said that Turkish president had mentioned that meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could be possible.
Early in August, Guler told Reuters that “Turkey and Syria could meet at the ministerial level as part of efforts to normalise ties if suitable conditions are created.”
In the past few months, reports addressed a possible Syrian-Turkish rapprochement following statements by a number of Syrian and Turkish top officials, including the presidents.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, showed willingness to restore relations with the Syrian government saying there was no obstacle preventing Turkey and Syria from restoring diplomatic relations.
However, Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, said Turkey has not given any guarantees, as “we are moving positively on clear principals which are international law and national sovereignty,” adding “We are positive about any initiative to improve relations with Turkey.”