MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. In an attempt to improve relations between Ankara and Damascus, intense preparations are underway for a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Iran and Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"I can say that the work to organize this event is very much underway and the dates for the ministerial meeting are being agreed upon, taking into account, of course, the busy work schedules of the ministers. It’s not that easy to do," she said at a news conference.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday said that the four-way meeting on Syria-related issues could take place in Moscow at the start of May. The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that the deputy foreign ministers of the four countries held consultations in Moscow on April 3 and 4 to discuss the ministerial meeting.

Path to normalization

The defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkey held consultations in Moscow on December 28, 2022, kicking off the process of normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus. An agreement was reached at the meeting to establish a joint tripartite commission. Following these consultations, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries should take place. Its agenda will include the issue of holding talks between the presidents of Turkey and Syria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar Assad. It was later reported that the Iranian foreign minister would join the ministerial meeting.

Erdogan told reporters on December 15 of last year that he had invited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to hold a trilateral meeting with the Syrian leader. This summit, he said, should be preceded by negotiations between representatives of special services, defense and foreign ministers.