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Lavrov welcomes decision to involve Iran in Turkey-Syria normalization talks

In late December, the Russian Defense Ministry said trilateral talks had been held in Moscow between the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense ministers

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Russia can see the sense in involving Iran in further meetings on the Turkey-Syria settlement, Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday as he added that a relevant agreement had been reached.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tehran could join normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, which currently also involve Moscow.

Lavrov said Russia supported Turkey’s commitment to normalize relations with Syria and pledged further efforts to this end on the part of his country. "Russia, Iran, and Turkey are members of the Astana troika, which has been handling the Syrian settlement. Therefore, I consider it absolutely logical that any further communication on bringing relations between Turkey and Syria back to normal will also involve Russia and Iran," Lavrov said at a press conference following his talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

"As for the timeframes and specific formats of participation, be it at the military, diplomatic or any other level, they are currently being specified. We have a full understanding that it is necessary to move step by step, so that every step forward should yield specific, albeit minor, results," the Russian foreign minister added.

In late December, the Russian Defense Ministry said trilateral talks had been held in Moscow between the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense ministers. They focused on solutions to the Syrian crisis, the refugee issue, and joint efforts to battle extremist groups on Syrian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that following the meeting, the sides pointed to the constructive nature of the dialogue in this format and the need to keep at it in order to stabilize the situation in the Arab republic as well as in the region. Syria’s top brass described the meeting as positive.

Talks are currently ongoing between the appropriate agencies. The negotiations involve, among other things, the possibility of arranging a meeting between the foreign minister of Turkey and Syria and then a leaders’ meeting.

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