Syria, Russia, Turkey, Iran defense minsters discuss security issues
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Defense ministers of Syria, Russia, Turkey, and Iran held four-way talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, discussing “security issues,” Russian Ministry of Defense revealed on Tuesday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that all four countries had reaffirmed their “desire to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.”
Late in December 2022, a trilateral meeting took place between the defense ministers of Turkey, Syria and Russia in Moscow, marking the first high-level meeting between Syria and Turkey since the onset of the Syrian war in 2011.
The talks also stressed the “need to intensify efforts for the speedy return of Syrian refugees to their homeland,” the Russian Defense Ministry added.
The issue of “the fight against terrorist organizations and all extremist groups on Syrian territory,” was included in the tackeled issues.
“On April 25, 2023, the Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, held a number of bilateral talks with the heads of the military departments of Iran, Syria, and Turkey in Moscow. During the meetings, topical issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as various aspects of ensuring global and regional security were discussed,” Russia’s Defense Ministry was cited by Sputnik news agency.
Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country relies on negotiations between the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad before the date of Turkish presidential elections on May 14.
A four-way meeting at level of foreign ministers is scheduled to be held in early May.
Russia is mediating the four-way meetings that may develop into a summit, bringing leaders of Syria and Turkey together to end the 12 years of rift between the two countries.