Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
From the News Desk at The Cradle, May 10, 2023
A four-way meeting was held in Moscow on 10 May between the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkiye, and Iran to discuss the process of normalization between Ankara and Damascus.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized the importance of establishing a clear “roadmap” for Turkish-Syrian normalization, which should aim to be prepared for the next foreign ministers’ meeting, and “later to the heads of state.”
“The launch of the Turkish-Syrian normalization process, with the participation of the three guarantor countries, has proven the effectiveness of the Astana formula, which will have a noticeable positive impact, not only on the situation in Syria but also on the general climate in the region as a whole,” Lavrov said.
Russia, Iran, and Turkiye launched the Astana peace process in 2017 to discuss solutions to the Syrian crisis in line with UN-diplomatic efforts.
Lavrov also suggested resuming work to restore transportation routes and logistical links between Turkiye and Syria.
“It is important to start discussing the issue of restoring the transport and logistics routes cut off between the neighboring countries Turkey and Syria and resuming trade and economic cooperation without any obstacles,” the Russian foreign minister added.
Turkiye and Syria have been involved in a Russian and Iranian-sponsored initiative to reconcile ties in recent months.
Syria has asserted that it will not move forward with the talks unless a clear roadmap is established for a Turkish military withdrawal and an end to Turkish support for extremist groups, namely the Syrian National Army (SNA) coalition and the former Al-Qaeda branch, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – which still control significant portions of Syrian territory.
Before the meeting, Syrian state news outlet SANA reported that the talks would focus on “ending the illegal Turkish presence on Syrian territory, non-interference in the Syrian internal affairs, and combating terrorism in all its forms.”
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad highlighted that Damascus will “continue to work, demand and insist on the issue of Turkish withdrawal,” and “stress the need to fight all terrorist organizations on Syrian soil.”
