Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers to meet in Moscow

The first official meeting in more than a decade will also involve Russia and Iran

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is heading to Moscow for a meeting with his counterparts from Russia, Iran and Syria. Reuters

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday, officials said.

It will be the first official meeting of the countries' foreign ministers since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

The meeting in Moscow will also involve Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iran's Hossein Amirabdollahian, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.

“Now I'm going to Moscow from here. We will hold the meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, Iran and Syria in Moscow,” Mr Cavusoglu said at an event in southern Antalya province.

He said the aim of the meeting was “to achieve permanent stability and peace in Syria, to co-operate in the fight against the YPG/PKK that wants to divide Syria and threatens us from there, and to ensure that Syrians in Turkey return to their homes in a voluntary and safe manner”.

The PKK group is designated a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkey.

“I hope our meeting tomorrow will be beneficial,” Mr Cavusoglu added.

In April, the deputy foreign ministers of Turkey and Syria held talks in Russia, with the presence of Iranian officials, in a bid to push forward with reconciliation efforts.

The meeting was the prelude to Wednesday's meeting.

Russia and Iran have been pushing for reconciliation between Turkey and Syria for months. The two countries are Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's strongest allies in the war that started more than a decade ago.