Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas (not seen) hold a press conference after their meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara, Turkey on October 26, 2019. IMAGE: Fatih Aktaş – Anadolu Agency
The deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iran are meeting in Moscow next week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on March 8.
Speaking at a joint presser with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who paid a solidarity visit to Turkey after the February 6 earthquakes, Cavusoglu said that all sides are working to prepare a meeting between him and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in a four-way format, but only if the upcoming meeting in Moscow makes progress.
Cavusoglu also said that his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian wanted to join the talks between Turkey, Syria and Russia, and Ankara happily agreed.
“Astana is the only surviving format (to address) Syria anyway. Now we are planning a meeting between the four foreign ministers,” the minister told a joint news conference with Amirabdollahian. “Russia offered to host a preliminary meeting for the preparations of this four-way meeting. This meeting will be held at the level of deputy ministers next week in Moscow.”
Earlier this month, Cavusoglu discussed the Turkish-Syrian normalization process with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.
The talks between Ankara and Damascus, which are meant to normalize relations, gained momentum last December, when the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of the two countries met in Moscow.
The Turkish-Syrian earthquake delayed the normalization process. However, both sides are clearly still determined to go on with the talks.
Ankara wants to address the security threat posed by Kurdish forces in northern and eastern Syria as well as a solution for its refugee problem. Meanwhile, Damascus is asking for a Turkish military withdrawal, even if a gradual one, from all Syrian territory. Both sides are also looking to resume trade.
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Sufyani is probably the Shishakli faction, a far-right faction of the SSNP. Shishakli hated both Ba’athists (Ashab) and Abqa (Muslim Brotherhood).