The final statement of the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Syria, and Iran meeting in Moscow
The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Syria, and Iran affirmed their countries’ commitment to the sovereignty of Syria and the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
A statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, stated that Russian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov, the Syrian Faisal al Miqdad, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and the Iranian Hussein Amir Abdullahian also agreed to assign their deputies to prepare a roadmap for developing relations between Damascus and Ankara.
The statement stated, “The participants agreed to assign deputy foreign ministers to prepare a road map for developing relations between Türkiye and Syria, in coordination with the ministries of defense and intelligence of the four countries.
The statement continued, “The ministers affirmed the positive and constructive atmosphere that prevailed in the exchange of views, and agreed to continue high-level contacts and quadripartite technical negotiations in the coming period”.
At the start of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “The best outcome of our meeting today might be reaching an agreement to assign experts to draw up… a draft roadmap for Turkish-Syrian normalization, which will then be presented to our heads of state”.
According to Lavrov, this map will allow Damascus and Ankara to clearly define their positions on issues of priority to them, with the aim of recovering the Syrian government’s control over the entire territory of the country and to firmly guarantee the security of the border with Türkiye, which is 900 kilometers long.
“It’s also important to mention the restoration of logistical ties that were severed between the two neighboring countries and the resumption of economic cooperation without any obstacles,” the Russian foreign minister added.
Lavrov stressed, “We’re all interested in restoring relations between Syria and Türkiye on the basis of mutual equality and respect”.
The announcement is a diplomatic push for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a few days before Sunday’s general election, which represents his toughest challenge in his 21-year rule.
At the beginning of the conflict, Erdogan supported the opposition’s efforts to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and maintained a military presence in the northern regions of the country.
Erdogan pledged to accelerate the return of about four million Syrian refugees and migrants who fled to Türkiye to escape poverty and war in their country.
Reaching an agreement with Damascus is a condition for that process.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stressed that the quadripartite meeting in the Russian capital, Moscow, will be a strong message to ensure sustainable peace and security in the region and to strengthen good neighborly relations between Türkiye and Syria.
This came in a speech during the quartet meeting on Syria, on Wednesday, with the participation of Abdullahian and the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, and Faisal al Miqdad, in Moscow.
The Iranian foreign minister pointed out that the Astana track between Türkiye, Russia and Iran in order to find a solution to the Syrian crisis contributed to the development of cooperation between these countries, indicating that they see today’s meeting as a complement to this track.
“Promoting the Astana process as much as possible to achieve peace in Syria and the region is a heavy task on our shoulders these days,” Abdullahian said.
He welcomed the negotiations between Türkiye and Syria, indicating that these negotiations and the improvement of relations between Ankara and Damascus will benefit both countries and the countries of the region.
