Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the upcoming meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad might take place in the second half of January.
Cavusoglu added, during a call on Saturday, with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, that the trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, and Syria may be held in Moscow– or in a third country– without specifying the name of the country.
According to the Turkish newspaper “Hurriyet,” Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed during the call, the situation in Syria, and the tripartite ministerial meeting.
“Constructive Atmosphere”
On December 28th, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the holding of a tripartite meeting between the Turkish, Russian, and Syrian defense ministers in the Russian capital, Moscow.
According to the statement, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas, along with the heads of Russian and Syrian intelligence services.
The ministry’s statement said that as a result of the meeting, which took place in a “constructive atmosphere”, it was agreed to continue tripartite meetings to ensure and maintain stability in Syria and the region as a whole.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu commented on the meeting, saying, “I can say that it was a useful meeting.” He added that communication with the Syrian regime is important to achieve lasting peace and stability on the one hand and to achieve the safe return of refugees to Syria on the other.
Cavusoglu believes that in the matter of rapprochement with the Syrian regime, there are many countries that support the process of engagement with it. There are those who oppose it, there are those who are cautious, and there are also those who want relations to turn into a concrete step.
For its part, the Ministry of Defense in the government of the Syrian regime, commented on the meeting, in a statement, that it was a “positive” meeting, in which many issues were discussed.
On December 15th, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he had offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a trilateral meeting at the level of leaders, which will also include the President of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad.
Erdogan said at the time that, as of now, “we want to take a step as a trio of Syria, Turkey, and Russia.” He added that intelligence must first convene, then defense ministers will meet, then foreign ministers must meet, and after these steps, he will meet with Putin and Assad as leaders. He explained that Putin viewed this offer “positively,” stressing the start of a series of negotiations.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
