MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. The situation in Syria in the context of preparations for another meeting in the Astana format was in focus of consultations held by Russian president’s special envoy for the Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin with the Turkish partners in Ankara, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The Turkish side was represented by Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoglu and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal.

"The sides discussed in detail the situation in Syria and in the entire Middle East. The also discussed the situation in Idlib in the context of the escalated terrorist threat and the necessity to ensure protection for civilians and Russian and Turkish servicemen," the ministry said. "They also exchanged views on the problems of political settlement of the Syrian crisis with a focus on the completion of the formation and the launch of the [Syrian] Constitutional Committee."

Apart from that, the sides spoke about preperations for the next international meeting on Syria in the Astana format that is scheduled to be held in Nur-Sultan (former Astana) in early August.

Kalin earlier said that the trilateral Russia-Turkey-Iran summit om Syria would take place in Turkey in August.

An agreement on a constitutional committee in Syria was reached at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on January 30-31, 2018. The committee that will be tasked to elaborate recommendations on amendments to the Syrian constitution is to be comprised of 150 people, including 50 delegates from the Syrian government, 50 delegates from the opposition and 50 delegates from civil society. Each group will appoint 15 experts who will take part in consultations that will be held in Geneva behind closed doors.