The Turkish and Syrian defense ministers held talks on Wednesday during a meeting in Moscow with their Russian counterpart, the first official meeting at this level between Ankara and Damascus since the start of the war in Syria in 2011.
“Trilateral talks took place in Moscow between the defense ministers of the Russian Federation, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Discussions between Russian Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Hulusi Akar and Syrian Ali Mahmoud Abbas focused on “ways to resolve the Syrian crisis and the refugee issue”, as well as “joint efforts to fight extremist groups”, according to the same source.
“The parties stressed the constructive nature of the dialogue held in this format and the need to continue it in order to stabilize” Syria, added the Russian ministry.
For its part, the Turkish Ministry of Defense reported a meeting that took place in a “positive atmosphere”.
Syrian state agency Sana, citing the Syrian Defense Ministry, said the Syrian intelligence chief was also present and that the meeting was “positive”.
According to Sana, the Syrian Defense Minister and the Syrian Intelligence Chief met with their Turkish counterparts in Moscow, with the participation of Russian officials.
According to Turkish media, the powerful boss of the Turkish intelligence services (MIT), Hakan Fidan, was present on Wednesday in Moscow.
This is the first official meeting at ministerial level between Turkey and Syria since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, which greatly strained relations between Ankara and Damascus.
The foreign ministers of the two countries had a brief informal exchange on the sidelines of a regional summit in 2021 and Ankara had acknowledged contacts between intelligence services.
The meeting between Messrs. Akar and Abbas come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening for several weeks to launch a military offensive in northern Syria against Kurdish groups.
Last week, Mr. Akar had also indicated that Ankara was in contact with Moscow to obtain the “opening of Syrian airspace” to Turkish warplanes.
The war in Syria, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a complex conflict involving several international actors, has considerably strained relations between Ankara and Damascus.
Fiercely opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, Ankara has indeed posed as unwavering support for Syrian rebel groups and welcomes on its soil nearly four million Syrian refugees.
But Turkey, whose troops are already present in Syrian territory, south of its border, has in recent months changed its position with regard to Damascus, at a time when Ankara seeks to appease its relations with the Arab countries.
Mr. Erdogan, who has repeatedly described Mr. Assad as an “assassin” in recent years, thus mentioned last month a “possible” meeting with the latter.
In mid-December, he also indicated that he could meet Mr. Assad after meetings at the level of the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs.