Moscow, May 10, (dpa/GNA) – Russia is hosting a summit to improve relations between Turkey and Syria, receiving Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mikdad on Wednesday.
The foreign ministers of Russia and Iran, Sergei Lavrov and Hussein Amirabdollahian, also attended the four-party summit, which is known as the Astana format, in the Russian capital, the Interfax news agency reported.
Lavrov said the aim was to determine “common orientation points for further development” in Syria.
Ideally, there would be an agreement at the end of the meeting to work out a “draft roadmap for Syrian-Turkish normalization,” he added.
All four countries are involved in Syria’s civil war, that broke out in 2011. While Russia and Iran support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey has backed rebel forces.
The Syrian, Russian and Turkish defence ministers met last December and in April, in initial diplomatic attempts to bring Damascus and Ankara closer together.
GNA