ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey on Monday announced that its defence and intelligence head as well as those of Russia, Iran and Syria will meet in Moscow in a day, aiming at helping bring peace to the region. The defence ministers and intelligence chiefs of Turkey, Russia and Syria met in Moscow late December, marking the first high-level meeting between Ankara and Damascus since the war in Syria began in 2011. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday that the same officials of the three countries and Iran will meet again in Moscow on Tuesday, adding that they aim to help bring peace to the region. “On April 25, this meeting is scheduled to be held in Moscow. Our aim is to solve the problems through negotiations and bring peace and tranquillity to the region as soon as possible,” Akar was quoted by the state media as saying. He added that several positive steps are expected to be taken following the Tuesday meeting. The next meeting was initially set to be tripartite, but Iran was added to the discussions after expressing the country’s desire to be a part of the conversation. During the previous meeting, “views were exchanged on the participation of Iran in these meetings. This was approved by the relevant authorities. As a continuation of that session, this time as a quartet, we are preparing for a meeting to be attended by defence ministers and intelligence chiefs,” said Akar on Monday. The talks come as Syria and Turkey have taken steps towards a rapprochement. Both neighbouring countries enjoyed strong relations until civil war broke out 12 years ago, with Ankara entering the conflict by backing the rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
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