Turkey, Syria send defense, intel chiefs to meet in Russia

ANKARA — Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on Monday that the Turkish and Syrian defense and intelligence chiefs would meet in Moscow along with their Russian and Iranian counterparts this week.

In his statement, Akar said the meeting is planned to take place on Tuesday. The gathering will mark the second round of talks, the first of which was held in late December between the Turkish, Syrian and Russian defense and intelligence chiefs as part of the recent Ankara-Damascus thaw. Iran joined the process earlier this year.

Speaking on Monday, Akar said Ankara was aiming to resolve the conflicts in Syria through the four-way talks.  

The landmark talks were brokered by Moscow, which has long been seeking a reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus after more than a decade of hostilities.

Ankara backs the Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad and controls a large chunk of territory in northern Syria. Moscow and Tehran, meanwhile, are the main outside backers of the Syrian government. 

The thaw between Ankara and Damascus has been met with protests by the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups.  In his statement on Monday, Akar stressed that his country would not take any steps that would put its Syrian rebel allies in a difficult situation. 

Earlier this month, the four countries’ deputy foreign ministers met in Moscow to pave the way for a four-way meeting between the foreign ministers. Speaking following the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he could meet with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in early May along with his Russian and Iranian counterparts. 

Ankara is seeking Damascus’ cooperation in its fight against the Syrian Kurdish groups that it considers terror groups as well as the safe return of some 4 million Syrian refugees residing in Turkey. 

The Syrian government is pushing for a concrete commitment from Ankara for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from its territories. 

Speaking earlier this month, Cavusoglu said Turkey’s withdrawal from the war-torn country could only be achieved as part of a road map that could be agreed on during the four-way talks. 

The diplomatic ties between Ankara and Damascus were severed soon after the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeling Assad as a “bloody murderer.” 

Yet in a U-turn last year, the Turkish president announced that ousting Assad was no longer on his country’s agenda and that he was open to a meeting with his Syrian counterpart.