CIS

Home page

CIS

Ankara and Damascus signal that they are quite interested in resuming dialogue - Russian top diplomat

01 November 2024 09:05 (UTC +04:00)

The normalisation of Syrian-Turkish relations is of great importance for sustainable stabilisation in Syria and strengthening security in the entire Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Hurriyet newspaper, APA reports citing Russian MFA.

"Russia is taking consistent efforts to help bridge the gap between Damascus and Ankara. My colleagues from Türkiye and Iran and I discussed this issue during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Astana process guarantor countries on September 27 in New York.

Last year, several meetings were held in Moscow between the foreign ministries, defence ministries, and special services as part of the Russia-Iran-Syria- Türkiye quadripartite format. Topics of particular interest have been identified, including the return of Syrian refugees, the fight against terrorism, and border security.

The differences in the positions of Damascus and Ankara have led to a pause in the negotiation process. The Syrian government believes that first it is necessary to settle the issue of withdrawing the Turkish military contingent from Syria. Overall, Türkiye confirms its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, but suggests returning to the issue of the withdrawal of its troops later.

We will actively promote re-launching the negotiation process as soon as possible, because both capitals signal that they are quite interested in resuming the dialogue," top diplomat highlighted.