Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the News Desk at The Cradle, April 25, 2023
The defense ministers of Syria, Turkiye, Russia, and Iran held a four-way meeting in Moscow on 25 April in order to continue negotiations regarding an eventual normalization of ties between the Syrian and Turkish governments.
The meeting “was held in a constructive atmosphere,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement afterward, adding that all sides “reaffirmed respect for Syria’s territorial integrity.”
“The importance of stability in Syria and the region and the importance of more meetings on the four-nation platform to ensure it was stressed,” the Turkish statement added.
The Turkish Defense Ministry statement went on to say that the meeting “addressed the concrete steps that can be taken to normalize the Turkiye-Syria relations.”
However, a source quoted by the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan denied this. The source said that the meeting focused on a mechanism for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria and nothing relating to normalization. Normalized relations will not be achieved until Ankara withdraws, the source added.
According to the Syrian Defense Ministry, among the main topics of discussion was the issue of the Turkish military’s withdrawal from Syria – which the Damascus government has repeatedly emphasized as a condition for normalizing ties with Ankara.
The Syrian statement added that the talks also touched on a potential agreement to reopen the M4 international highway – which is divided between Syria, Russia, Turkiye, and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist group.
In January this year, a source told The Cradle that reopening the M4 may require a joint Syrian-Russian-Turkish military operation against HTS. It remains unclear whether anything relating to this was touched upon during the meeting.
Syria continues to stand behind its position on Turkiye’s withdrawal, which may complicate matters given that the Turkish army has not yet expressed an intention to leave the country – and is pressing ahead with plans to establish a 30-kilometer deep ‘security belt’ on Syrian territory.
Damascus has in the past referred to the Turkish presence in Syria as a ‘colonialist scheme.’
Following the meeting, Russia’s Defense Ministry said: “Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations,” contradicting what the Syrian source told Al-Watan newspaper.
According to the statement, Moscow stressed during the meeting the importance of “the fight against all extremist groups in Syria.”
Extremist armed groups – namely the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and HTS – remain in control over a significant portion of the Syrian north. The Turkish army is also present there.
Damascus has continued to affirm over the years that “every inch” of Syrian territory will be liberated.
