Turkish delegation to visit Russia ahead of top regional diplomats' meeting

A Turkish delegation will visit Russia's capital next week for technical talks ahead of a planned Turkish, Russian, Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers' meeting, Türkiye's foreign minister has said. 

"An offer came from the Russians to hold a meeting at the technical level in preparation for a possible meeting of foreign ministers. We will also send our deputy minister to Moscow next week," Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday at a news conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the capital Ankara. 

"The Iranian side will also attend this meeting. At this meeting, preparations for the foreign ministers' meeting will be made." 

Cavusoglu said the only surviving mechanism for Syria is the Astana format. "Therefore, we said to the Russians that there is nothing wrong with Iran's participation," he added.

READ MORE: Will Türkiye-Syria ice-breaking meeting lead to normalisation?

Iran's involvement

On December 28, 2022, the Turkish, Russian and Syrian defence ministers met in Moscow and agreed to continue the tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region. 

About the possibility of the inclusion of Iran into the talks, Türkiye previously said Ankara would be "pleased if Iran is involved in this process." 

Although no date or location has yet been announced, the foreign ministers' meeting would mark another high-level talk since the Syrian civil war began in 2011. 

Abdollahian, for his part, said Iran is ready to play a role to resolve the different points of view between Türkiye and Syria under the regional cooperation. 

"Iran declares that it is ready for any kind of quadrilateral format between Tehran, Moscow, Ankara, and Damascus," he added.

READ MORE: Türkiye, Russia, Syria FMs may meet early next month – Cavusoglu