MOSCOW: Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday hosted four-way dialogue aimed at normalising relations between Turkey and Syria, which were severed at the start of civil war in Syria.
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said that practical measures were discussed in the field of strengthening security in Syrian and normalising Syrian-Turkish ties. Russia stressed the significance of countering “the fight against all extremist outfits in Syria.
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Russian Defence Minister, who hosted counterparts from Turkey, Syria, Iran and Turkey also held a number of bilateral dialogues. Moscow has sought to mend relations between Syria and Turkey.
According to AFP, successful Moscow mediation would give President Putin a diplomatic thump with Russia isolated globally over Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. In a similar statement, the Turkish ministry for defence affairs pointed to the “positive atmosphere” of the meeting, during which they discussed “the matter of intensifying efforts to return Syrian refugees to their country.”
All parties “reaffirmed their respect for the territorial integrity of Syria”, the Turkish ministry said. In a statement, the Syrian defence ministry said that the “meeting of the defence chiefs” had discussed “the withdrawal of Turkish troops” from Syria.
Turkish President Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had amicable ties in the 2000s following years of tensions between their countries.
But the civil war in Syria, which had left more than 500,000 people dead and displaced millions, strained ties between Ankara and Damascus, which has long supported rebels opposed to President Assad.
Syria is a staunch ally of Russia, which intervened in the civil war in 2015, conducting air strikes to support Assad’s government.
With Moscow and Tehran’s support, Syria has won back much of the territory it lost in the early stages of the civil war.
