“An engagement process with Syria has started under the hosting and facilitation of Russia. Later, Iran was also involved in this process. We told you in Egypt that the meeting at the level of deputy ministers has been postponed. Now the date of that meeting has been clarified. Quadrilateral meeting at the level of deputy minister will take place in Moscow on April 3-4,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters on April 2 during his visit to New York.
The meeting of the deputy ministers was to be held last month but was postponed due to “technical reasons,” the Turkish minister said earlier.
In December last year, the Turkish, Russian and Syrian defense ministers met in Moscow as part of the normalization process between Ankara and Damascus and discussed counterterrorism efforts in Syria. The three parties agreed to continue the tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wanted to pay a visit to Türkiye after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, and he will travel to the country between April 6-7, he stated.
The minister said they would have the opportunity to discuss different dimensions of bilateral relations during Lavrov’s visit.
The top diplomats will also discuss Syria, Libya and other regional issues, including the extension of the grain agreement, the situation of Syrian refugees and increasing humanitarian aid for them after the dealing earthquakes in early February, Çavuşoğlu said.
The minister recalled his meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 30 and said that Guterres asked whether Türkiye would contribute to some issues, such as the payments of banks, which the Russians complained about. “We are working on it. Russia said ‘yes’ to the 60-day extension of the grain agreement. [Extention for] 120 days is not clear at the moment. We will talk about it,” he noted.
Çavuşoğlu paid an official visit to the U.S. last week for a special session of the International Day of Zero Waste at the U.N., joining Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan.
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