Quadripartite meeting on Syria to be held in Astana: Russian Deputy FM
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The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov says a meeting at the deputy minister level will be held on June 21 in Astana between Syria, Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
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Foreign Ministers of Russia, Syria, Iran, and Turkey meet in Moscow, Russia, May 10 2023 (AP)
A meeting between the deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Turkey has been scheduled for June 21 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov announced on Wednesday.
"On June 20-21, a large Russian delegation will fly to Astana. There will be a meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers on June 21," Bogdanov said.
The Russian official also revealed that a draft roadmap for the normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey has been mapped out by Russia and is ready to be explored at the quadripartite meeting in Astana.
"The Russian draft roadmap is ready. Our task is to discuss [it] with our partners and move forward in this work. We hope that the meeting in Astana will allow us to make serious progress," Bogdanov added.
On Monday, Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad stressed the importance of coordination in regard to the quartet meetings, state-run Syrian news agency SANA reported.
During a meeting with Ali Asghar Khaji, senior assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs, and the accompanying delegation, Al-Assad emphasized the need to develop a combined strategy with the Russian and Iranian sides to clarify the objectives on which the forthcoming discussions will be constructed within a time limit, as well as means to implement these objectives.
The agency indicated that the meeting touched on files of mutual interest between Syria and Iran, regional and international cooperation and consultation, and a shared vision in light of recent developments and changes.
On his part, Khaji affirmed the accuracy of the Syrian vision regarding the various files being negotiated.
Earlier, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi assured his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Iran and Turkey have an important role in regional cooperation and strengthening security in the region.
Last week, Korhan Qaraqosh, the director of the Syrian file in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told Al Mayadeen that talks with Syria will be held as part of the quadripartite meeting that will be hosted by Moscow, noting that the talks will be decisive to reach a settlement for the Syrian case.
This came a week after former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that his country decided to put together a committee charged with drawing up a roadmap and plan of action to "normalize ties with Syria," explaining that the committee will convene in the coming days to kickstart its work.
