The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on 8 March that Moscow is set to host a quadripartite meeting between Russia, Syria, Turkiye, and Iran on a foreign ministerial level next week, to discuss regional developments, specifically current issues in Syria, according to RT.

During a press conference, Cavusoglu remarked that preparations for the meeting have already been made and that it was initially set to be a tripartite session between Turkiye, Syria, and Russia; however, it was later agreed upon that Iran would participate in the talks, adding that Tehran’s involvement is “the only track that has worked so far on the issue of the Syrian crisis.”

The Turkish foreign minister further added that the three parties held no objections to Iran’s participation in the upcoming talks in Kazakstan next week, which will be attended by each country’s deputy foreign minister.

This comes a week after the Russian ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, said that it was “high time” for a reconciliation of ties between Syria and Turkiye.

In December last year, the defense ministers of Turkiye, Syria, and Russia held a meeting in Moscow, marking the first meeting between representatives of Damascus and Ankara since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. This also marked the launching of a Russian-sponsored normalization path between Turkiye and Syria, as well as the upcoming meeting in Astana.

In 2011, Ankara opened its border with Syria and facilitated the illegal entry of militants into the country. Through its active support for the armed opposition, Turkiye was one of the principal instigators of the conflict in Syria, alongside Doha, Washington, and others.

Five years later, the Turkish military invaded Syria under the pretext of combatting Kurdish militants. By 2017, Ankara had established a permanent military presence in northern Syria through its army and its proxy militant coalition, the Syrian National Army (SNA).