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Russia's defense minister to visit Turkey

The visit is scheduled for October 27

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar expects to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on October 27, he said in an interview with the Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

"Most heavy weapons and militants of radical groups have been withdrawn from the demilitarized zone in Idlib. On Saturday, we will have a chance to discuss these issues in detail with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. We expect that thanks to this effort our work [in Syria] will be more successful," Akar said.

The Turkish defense minister said due to cooperation with Russia on Syria "the cases of ceasefire violations reduced by 90%."

The ministers will meet in the framework of the four-way summit between leaders of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France on the Syrian settlement in Istanbul on October 27. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put forward the initiative of holding the meeting this summer.

Last week, the Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would pay a working visit to Turkey on October 27 to take part in the four-way meeting with the leaders of Turkey, Germany and France. The summit’s goal is to "exchange views on the Syrian issue, including the political settlement process, further steps aimed at strengthening security and stability, creating conditions for refugees’ return and rebuilding socio-economic infrastructure facilities," the Kremlin said.