• 

The meeting between the Syrian, Turkish, and Russian defense ministers in Moscow was positive, the Syrian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Today in the capital of Russia, Moscow, with the participation of the Russian side, a meeting was held between the Syrian defense minister and the head of the Syrian General Directorate with the Turkish defense minister and the head of Turkish intelligence," Damascus underlined.

The Russian, Syrian, and Turkish defense ministers held talks on Wednesday in the Russian capital, Moscow, to discuss means of resolving the Syrian crisis, Moscow's defense ministry said.

"The parties discussed a number of issues. The meeting was positive," the statement added.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the defense ministers highlighted how the dialogue was constructive, stressing the need for all three parties to hold further talks to bring more stability to Syria and the whole region, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Defense Minister Akar and the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Hakan Fidan, met Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk in Moscow along with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

"Syrian crisis, the refugee issue, and efforts of joint fight against all terror organizations on Syrian soil were discussed in the constructive meeting," the ministry’s statement added.

Turkey has conducted a number of operations in northern Syria against the US-backed SDF and the YPG, threatening further incursions over a period of months. 

Earlier this month, Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone call, during which they discussed several issues, such as bilateral ties and the Kurdish forces in Northern Syria.

Russia has been receiving indications from Ankara and Damascus about being open to making steps towards one another and about hopes for a Syrian-Turkish rapprochement, Russia's special presidential envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, told reporters on November 23, following the 19th round of the Astana talks on Syria.

Last month, Turkey ramped up its military preparations after an explosion in Istanbul, which Kurdish militants were held accountable for, though denied involvement. Ankara then launched strikes against what it claimed to be YPG targets, and the president gave the possibility of a coming-ground offensive. 

Erdogan has been threatening to conduct a new military incursion into northern Syria to move out Kurdish forces which he blames for the November bomb blast that killed six people in Istanbul.