Syria Says Turkish Troops Pullout Discussed at Moscow Meeting

Date: 26 April 2023 - 22:48

News ID: ۱۱۴۳۴۳

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Damascus says defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran have discussed the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Arab country, as efforts continue to mend ties between Ankara and Damascus.
Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing the country’s defense ministry, reported that the participants discussed the issue at a four-party meeting in the Russian capital, Moscow, on Tuesday.
“Participants in the talks discussed the issue of withdrawing Turkish troops from Syrian territory,” it said. “They also discussed implementing the special agreement related to movements along the M4 international highway.”
However, a senior Turkish official has denied that Turkey had discussed the withdrawal of its troops from Syria in the latest round of talks in Moscow.
“Turkey has never negotiated an issue regarding the withdrawal of its forces from Syria during the talks in Moscow,” the senior official told Middle East Eye. “We have discussed possible joint means of fighting against the Syrian arm of PKK and its armed wing, YPG.”
The M4 international highway crosses five provinces in northern Syria, and is considered a major crossing for the international shipping route that connects Turkey, Iraq and Jordan via Syria.
Syrian officials have on numerous occasions said that any move towards normalizing ties between Syria and Turkey can only come after Ankara agrees to pull out thousands of troops it has stationed in northwest of the Arab country.
This came after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad called on Ankara to put an end to its military presence in Syria.
“It is impossible to talk about normalizing relations with Turkey amid its occupation of Syria’s northern areas,” he stressed.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s Defense Ministry said practical steps were discussed during the quadrilateral meeting to strengthen security in Syria and normalize Syrian-Turkish relations.
Special attention was focused on efforts to “counter terrorist threats and combat extremist groups in Syria,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
Turkey’s Ministry of Defense also announced that the parties had discussed “concrete steps” that can be taken to normalize Turkish-Syrian relations.
It also said “the fight against terrorist organizations and all extremist groups” was discussed at the quadrilateral meeting, adding that stepping up efforts to return Syrian refugees to their countries was another issue on the agenda of the four countries.
Turkey severed its relations with Syria in March 2012, a year after the Arab country found itself in the grip of rampant and deadly violence waged by foreign-backed militants, including those allegedly supported by Ankara.
The two neighboring countries are currently taking steps toward reconciliation after 11 years.
The process of normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus kicked off on December 28, 2022, when the Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met in Moscow, in what was the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the outbreak of the Syria conflict.