Speaking to Reuters, the Turkish official gave the date of the new round of talks between Turkey, Syria and Russia.
Turkey’s first official contact with Syria after 11 years and the ongoing rapprochement remain on the agenda of world public opinion.
National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Head Hakan Fidan met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmud Abbas and the intelligence chiefs of the two countries in Moscow last month. It was reported that the Syrian crisis, the refugee problem and joint efforts to fight all terrorist organizations in Syria were discussed at the meeting.
Regarding the Turkey-Syria talks, Defense Minister Akar said yesterday: “After 11 years, this kind of thing started with good intentions for relations between the two countries and peace in the region. Our hope develops through mutual negotiations and turns into a situation that will contribute to peace and stability in the region.
Speaking to the UK-based Reuters news agency, a senior Turkish official announced that the second round of tripartite talks is scheduled for this month, possibly next week.
‘SYRIAN REFUGEES AGENDA AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM’
The official, who did not disclose his name, stated that the meeting could take place before Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s meeting with his US counterpart Antony Blinken on January 18, saying: “Negotiations are ongoing, the exact date is not has been determined. “There’s no problem with the meeting, it’s just working at the moment,” he said. The official noted that Ankara’s main goal during the meeting was the return of Syrians to their countries and cooperation with Damascus against the PKK/YPG terrorist organization.
According to the news, the El Vatan newspaper, which is close to the administration of Syrian President Bashar Assad, also stated that a date for the tripartite meeting has not yet been set.
The US administration had previously stated that it did not support rapprochement between Turkey and Syria.