Quadrilateral meeting emphasizes continuation of fight against terrorism in Syria
Russia on Tuesday hosted four-way talks aimed at normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus, which were severed at the start of the foreign-backed war in Syria in 2011.
“Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations,” Iran’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, the participants also discussed the fight against all forms of terrorism, the fight against the Daesh terrorist group, and other extremist groups in Syria, IRNA reported.
In a similar statement the Turkish Defense Ministry pointed to the “constructive atmosphere” of the meeting during which the parties discussed “the issue of intensifying efforts to return Syrian refugees to their land,” according to AFP.
All participants “reaffirmed their respect for Syria’s territorial integrity,” the Turkish ministry added.
In Damascus, the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by state media that the “quartet meeting of the defense ministers” had discussed “the withdrawal of Turkish forces” from Syria.
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Qaraei Ashtiani, who arrived in Moscow on Monday evening, was present at the meeting.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had amicable relations in the 2000s after years of tensions between their countries following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.
But Syria’s war, which has left 500,000 people dead and displaced millions, strained relations between Damascus and Ankara, which has long supported rebel groups opposed to the Syrian government.
With Russian and Iranian support, Syria has won back much of the territory it lost in the early stages of the conflict.