Türkiye, Syria, Russia, Iran to hold technical talks next week: FM

ANKARA

A Turkish delegation will visit Moscow next week for technical talks ahead of a planned foreign ministers’ meeting of Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on March 8.

The minister reminded the talks that started within the scope of the normalization with Syria and stated that Iran’s request to participate in these tripartite meetings was deemed appropriate and that the first four-party meeting at the technical level will be held in Moscow next week.

“We received an invitation from Russia for the technical meeting in Moscow next week. We will also send our deputy minister to Moscow next week. We are planning to do this in a four-way manner” Çavuşoğlu said at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian.

The Iranian side will also attend this meeting and the foreign ministers can meet at a later stage, Çavuşoğlu explained.

The only surviving mechanism for Syria is the Astana format, he said.
Çavuşoğlu stated that Turkish airspace has been opened for humanitarian aid to Syria. The roads reaching the Cilvegözü Border Gate were damaged due to the earthquake, but the necessary steps were taken to repair the roads, and 475 aid trucks have passed so far, he noted.

Türkiye also allowed two more border gates in Kilis to be used for humanitarian aid and support was delivered through Kilis province, the minister noted.

In December last year, the Turkish, Russian, and Syrian defense ministers met in Moscow as part of the normalization process between Ankara and Damascus and discussed counterterrorism efforts in Syria. The three parties agreed to continue the tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region.

Elaborating on ties between Iran and Türkiye, Çavuşoğlu thanked the Iranian state and people for their support after the deadly earthquake. Iran immediately conveyed its condolences and offered help, and a 150-person search and rescue team came, and they pulled 11 Turkish citizens out of the rubble in Gaziantep, Çavuşoğlu added.

“They brought a lot of humanitarian aid and the necessary materials for the field hospital they established in Adıyaman. They also established a tent city in Adıyaman. Our Iranian brothers rushed to both our embassy in Tehran and our consulate general and delivered a lot of aid,” he said.

Çavuşoğlu noted that he is planning to visit Iran in the future. “We want to further develop our cooperation on energy,” he said.

Elaborating on the Iran-Afghan ties, Amirabdollahian said they are continuing talks with the interim government in Afghanistan. “We do not recognize them officially. We hope that the government will be formed in the coming days,” he said.

Amirabdollahian said Syria and Türkiye were the two important countries of the region.

“As I said in my last visit, Iran is ready to take on its own role to resolve the different points of view between Syria and Ankara within the framework of regional cooperation. Iran declares that it is ready for the quartet format between Tehran-Moscow-Ankara-Damascus.”