Türkiye, Syria, Russia defence ministers hold ‘constructive’ talks in Moscow

Defence ministers of Syria, Turkiye, and Russia met in Moscow on Wednesday and the Russian defence ministry said it was the first interaction betweenTurkish and Syrian
ministerssince the war broke out in Syria in the year 2011.Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Hulusi Akar and Ali Mahmoud Abbas, discussed "ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, the problem of refugees, and joint efforts to combat extremist groups in Syria", said the Russian defence ministry in a statement. Also present at the meeting was the Syrian spy chief.

The talks assume importance as bothRussia and Turkey are engaged in Syria, with Moscow supporting Damascus against its opponents, while Ankara has been backing the rebels.

Watch |Turkiye, Syria, Russia defense ministers meet for first talks since 2011

As per the Russian ministry, the meeting was "constructive", the Turkish defence ministry also echoed the sentiment and said that the meeting was held in a "constructive atmosphere", while the Syrian side said it was "positive".

This meeting comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent days has repeatedly threatened to launch a military offensive against Kurdish groups in northern Syria.

As per AFP, Russia and Turkiye are both parties to the Syrian war, with Moscow supporting the Damascus regime and Ankara backing the rebels.

This was the first such formal talk between Turkiye and Syria. Earlier, the foreign ministers of the two nations had a brief informal exchange on the sidelines of a regional summit in 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

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