On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Syria will meet for the first time since the beginning of the Syrian civil war over a decade ago.
According to a statement released by Turkey’s foreign ministry, the meetings in Moscow would also include the top diplomats of Russia and Iran.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives a diplomatic boost from the declaration only days before the most difficult general election of his 21-year leadership.
Despite outrage from Damascus, Erdogan has maintained a military presence in the war-torn country’s northern reaches, where he supported early rebel efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
After Turkey’s economy collapsed two years ago, though, Erdogan changed course. Erdogan is now trying to arrange a presidential conference with Assad, after making amends with his old enemies across the region.
Syria had refused, demanding instead that Turkish forces be withdrawn first. Even Erdogan’s detractors support a peace deal with Syria, making it a central issue in the election campaign.
Nearly four million Syrian refugees and migrants have fled to Turkey seeking safety from poverty and violence, and President Erdogan has promised to expedite their return home.
Damascus’s cooperation is viewed as essential at this stage. The two parties have been talking with the help of mediators from Iran and Russia.
