KAZAN, May 18. /TASS/. Real work to create a roadmap to normalize Syrian-Turkish relations has already begun, says Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa.

"Of course. We are working on it," he said, answering a question from TASS on the sidelines of the "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum."

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the work on creating the roadmap will begin shortly, adding that this activity will be relegated to a separate committee. According to the foreign minister, the task will be carried out by deputy foreign ministers, deputy defense ministers and representatives of intelligence agencies.

About the normalization process

The process of normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus started on December 28, 2022, in Moscow, when delegations of Defense Ministries of Russia, Syria and Turkey held trilateral consultations. During the meeting, the sides agreed to establish a joint trilateral commission. These consultations were supposed to be followed by a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers, at which they were to discuss a meeting at the level of presidents. Later, it was announced that Iran would also take part in the meeting of foreign ministers.

On December 15, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that he had proposed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a trilateral meeting be held which included Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to Erdogan, such a summit must be preceded by meetings involving intelligence representatives, defense ministers and foreign ministers.