Russia-Syria-Turkey-Iran Deputy Ministers Meeting May Take Place in Early April: Russian Foreign Ministry

Consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers from Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran may take place in Moscow in early April. This was announced to TASS by Mikhail Bogdanov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia.

"We are preparing. Soon... I think in early April. In Moscow. There will be consultations to prepare for the ministerial meeting," Bogdanov said in response to a question about when the quadrilateral consultations at the deputy foreign ministers level in the Russia-Turkey-Syria-Iran format may occur.

In December, the first negotiations between the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria in the last 11 years took place in Russia. The civil war in Syria began in 2011. Turkey, which had maintained close relations with Damascus before the conflict, has sided with the opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey was planned to resolve the disagreements between Ankara and Damascus. In January, Ankara suggested that such a meeting could take place in early February. Later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan considered it possible for Iran to join the high-level talks planned between Turkey, Russia, and Syria.