Russian Defense reveals the details of the meeting of the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, Türkiye and Iran
On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the holding of four-side talks between the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, Türkiye and Iran.
In its statement, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that “during the meeting, practical steps were discussed in the field of enhancing security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations”.
“Special attention has been paid to the issues of confronting all manifestations of terrorist threats, and fighting all extremist groups in Syria”.
The statement added, “Following the talks, the parties renewed their desire to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and the need to intensify efforts for the speedy return of Syrian refugees to their homeland”.
The Ministers of Defense emphasized the constructive nature of the ongoing dialogue in this manner and the need to continue it in order to further stabilize the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the region as a whole.
“The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, held a series of bilateral talks with the defense ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Turkish Republic, who arrived in Moscow earlier”.
In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated that “current issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as various aspects of ensuring global and regional security, were discussed during the meetings”.
In December 2022, the first talks were held, in 11 years, between the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, and the Syrian Ali Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss ways to solve the Syrian crisis, and the need to continue dialogue to achieve stability.
These consultations aim to bring the views of Damascus and Ankara closer, which severed relations between them following the outbreak of clashes, in 2011, between the Syrian army and armed groups backed from abroad.
