News - Middle East: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has expressed hopes that Syria and Turkey would reach a political solution on re-establishing their diplomatic ties and withdrawal of foreign forces from northern Syria.

Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Moscow early on Wednesday to attend a quadrilateral meeting with his Syrian, Turkish and Russian counterparts in a summit hosted by the Kremlin. 

“We hope that the four-sided Moscow meeting would send a strong message on Syria and Turkey’s focus on a political solution, withdrawal of military forces, and expulsion of occupation forces such as the United States from northern Syria,” he told IRNA upon his arrival in Moscow.

He said the region faced a “very difficult” situation last year due to the possibility of Turkey’s invasion of Syria’s border areas, adding, “A lot of diplomatic efforts have been made to prevent a new war and conflict in the region and along with Turkey-Syria joint border.”

Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad in Moscow on Wednesday morning before the main summit.

He also expressed hope that the Moscow meeting would pave the way for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland as soon as possible.

Turkey severed its relations with Syria in March 2012, a year after the Arab country found itself in the grip of rampant and deadly violence waged by foreign-backed militants, including those supported by Ankara.

The two neighboring countries are currently taking steps toward reconciliation after 11 years.

In the last bid to mend ties between Ankara and Damascus, defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran met in Moscow late last month and discussed the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria.

The process of normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus kicked off on December 28, 2022, when the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met in Moscow, in what was the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in January that a rapprochement with Turkey would depend on Turkey ending its occupation of northern Syria and its support for militant groups fighting against the Damascus government.

‘Syrian government, nation part of region’s reality’

In a Wednesday post on his Twitter account, Amir-Abdollahian highlighted the importance of Iran’s dynamic diplomacy, saying, “The Syrian government and nation are a part of the region’s reality.”

“The initiative in the dynamic and multifaceted diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of #Iran can draw the perspective of the end of the basic challenges for the entire region by completing the process of convergence,” Amir-Abdollahian tweeted.

Iran has repeatedly expressed its readiness to play a constructive role in promoting reconciliation talks between Turkey and Syria.

Source: Press TV