Syrian sovereignty, combating terrorism main takes from quadripartite Moscow meeting

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A quadripartite meeting of foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Russia, and Iran in Moscow on Wednesday reached an agreement to prepare a roadmap to resolve issues between Ankara and Damascus, a joint statement by Turkey and Syria after the meeting said.

The deputy foreign ministers of the four countries were instructed to prepare a roadmap to further advance Turkey-Syria relations in coordination with the defense ministers, according to the statement.

“At Foreign Ministers’ quadripartite meeting on #Syria, stressed the need for: Cooperation in fight against terrorism, Working together to establish the basis for returns of Syrians, Taking political process in Syria forward, Protection of Syria’s territorial integrity,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet.

Syria and Turkey have had tense relations ever since Ankara threw support behind rebel forces attempting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in a brutal civil war that erupted in 2011. Turkey maintains a heavy military presence in northern Syria, fighting on two fronts against the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

According to the statement, the four sides agreed on moving forward in accordance to the Astana format and the United Nation Security Council Resolution 2254, emphasizing on Syria’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity as well as combating “all forms of terrorism.”

Wednesday’s meeting marked the first official setting between foreign ministers of Syria and Turkey since the start of the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago, during which Ankara severed ties with Damascus and supported the rebellion againstAssad, occupying swathes of the country’s north.

As a prerequisite to an agreement, Damascus demands that Ankara withdraws all military forces from the north of the country - a demand reiterated on Wednesday by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

In December, the defense ministers of Turkey, Syria and Russia met in Moscow for the first time since the start of the civil war.

Wednesday’s meeting was initially set to be tripartite, but Iran expressed a desire in partaking in the discussions, which was received well by all parties.

Syrian sovereignty, combating terrorism main takes from quadripartite Moscow meeting

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