MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Ways to improve Ankara-Damascus relations were discussed at a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, as Lavrov himself told reporters.

"We thoroughly discussed our goals with regard to improving Syria-Turkey relations. As you know, the issue was considered at the 20th international Astana meeting in Kazakhstan in July, and certain agreements were reached. Today, we discussed additional steps to facilitate efforts by Ankara and Damascus to restore diplomatic relations and build full-scale cooperation," the Russian foreign minister said at a press conference following talks with Fidan.

The process of improving relations between Ankara and Damascus was launched at the Moscow consultations of the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense chiefs on December 28, 2022. The meeting’s participants agreed to create a trilateral commission. Iran joined the negotiations later. The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey held a meeting in Moscow on May 10, deciding to issue orders to their deputies to prepare a roadmap for the development of relations between Damascus and Ankara. The parties discussed the draft roadmap at an Astana meeting on Syria on June 20-21, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said. He added, however, that the document required further processing.