ANKARA
\nForeign ministers for Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran met on Wednesday in Moscow, marking the highest-level talks so far on rebuilding ties between Ankara and Damascus after years of animosity during Syria\u2019s civil war.
\nTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet that he had stressed the need for \u201ccooperation in the fight against terrorism and working together to establish the basis for the return of Syrians\u201d during the meeting.
\nNATO member Turkey has backed political and armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 12-year civil war, and sent its own troops into the country\u2019s north. It is also hosting more than 3.5 million refugees from its neighbour.
\nCavusoglu said \u201ctaking the political process in Syria forward and protection of Syria\u2019s territorial integrity\u201d were the other issues discussed.
\nSyria\u2019s foreign minister Faisal Mekdad was quoted as saying by Syrian state news agency SANA that \u201cdespite all the negatives of the past years, there is an opportunity\u201d for Damascus and Ankara to work together.
\nBut the priority for Syria was ending the illegal presence of all foreign militaries including Turkey\u2019s, Mekdad said.
\nSyria\u2019s northwest includes a sliver of territory held by rival militias, including hardline armed groups and jihadist factions backed by Turkey.
\n\u201cWithout progress in this matter, we will remain stagnant and will not reach any real results,\u201d Mekdad was quoted as saying.
\nRussia\u2019s foreign ministry said in a statement there had been a \u201cpositive and constructive atmosphere\u201d and that the countries\u2019 deputy foreign ministers would be tasked with preparing a roadmap to advance Syria-Turkey ties.
\nSyrian and Turkish defence ministers had also held talks in Moscow in December.
\nMoscow is Assad\u2019s main ally and Russia has encouraged a reconciliation with Turkey. Assad was invited on Wednesday to attend the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19 in a major sign that the regional isolation of Damascus has thawed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ANKARA Foreign ministers for Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran met on Wednesday in Moscow, marking the highest-level talks so far on rebuilding ties between Ankara and Damascus after years of animosity during Syria\u2019s civil war. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet that he had stressed the need for \u201ccooperation in the fight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-330356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n