Russian, Syrian, Turkish defense ministers meet in Moscow

Moscow, The Gulf Observer: The defense ministers of Russia, Turkey and Syria met in Moscow on Wednesday, the first such talks since a war broke out in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said.

Turkish, Russian, Syrian defense ministers and intelligence chiefs have met in Moscow to discuss the Syrian crisis.

According to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry on Wednesday, the country’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar along with the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan met Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Syrian regime’s Defense Minister Mahmud Abbas and intelligence chiefs of the two countries.

During the meeting, the Syrian crisis, the refugee problem and joint efforts to combat terrorist organisations in Syrian territory were discussed.

The statement dubbed the meeting as constructive, saying it was agreed that such tripartite meetings and discussions would continue to ensure and maintain stability in Syria and the region.

“Ways of resolving the Syrian crisis and the problem of refugees as well as joint efforts to combat extremist groups in Syria have been discussed,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a separate statement.

The meeting came after Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that leaders of Türkiye, Russia and Syria could meet for talks after a meeting of intelligence, defense and foreign officials.

“Currently, we want to take a step with Syria and Russia, as a trio. For this, first, our intelligence organisations should come together, then our defense ministers and, then our foreign ministers should meet,” Erdogan had said.