The quadrilateral deputy foreign ministerial-level meeting on Syria between Ankara, Moscow, Tehran and Damascus is expected to pave way for higher-level talks between Türkiye and Syria as the two countries are inching toward normalization.
Diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the meeting started on Tuesday and these talks would be a prelude to a meeting between the four countries’ foreign ministers.
"The sides will exchange views on which agendas the ministers can meet, besides discussing areas of possible cooperation," the sources highlighted.
The meeting, which was closed to the press, was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative on the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov, the Iranian foreign minister's senior adviser for political affairs Ali Asghar Khaji and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Syrian regime Ayman Susan.
Sources noted that the four countries agreed to continue to hold consultation meetings and discussed preparations for a potential meeting between foreign ministers.
Russia's long-standing effort to open a channel of dialogue between Türkiye and the Bashar Assad regime paid off last year, as the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia and the Bashar Assad regime met in Moscow on Dec. 28.
Çavuşoğlu said he expects to meet his Syrian counterpart as part of mutual steps taken toward normalizing ties. The Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers had a brief informal exchange on the sidelines of a regional summit in 2021 and Ankara acknowledged the intelligence contacts.
In November, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said a meeting with Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad was a possibility after having severed diplomatic ties with Damascus throughout the 11-year conflict.
Any normalization between Ankara and Damascus would reshape the decadelong Syrian war. Turkish backing has been vital to sustaining moderate Syrian opposition in their last significant territorial foothold in the northwest after Assad defeated opponents across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.
However, according to statements from the Assad regime, Damascus wants the end of Turkish presence on Syrian territories.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019.
The PKK terrorist group's Syrian wing, the YPG, has controlled much of northeastern Syria after Assad's forces withdrew in 2012.
Turkish officials have voiced that Ankara and Damascus could, in the upcoming period, cooperate on the return of Syrian refugees in Türkiye as well as counterterrorism efforts as the PPK/YPG still controls much of the war-torn country’s east, making it impossible for Assad to establish territorial integrity.
On the other side, normalization has also been ongoing with the regime and the Arab world. Several Arab leaders have voiced the possibility of Syria being readmitted to the Arab League. A summit is expected to take place in Riyadh in May.
Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his reconciliation within the Arab world since 2011 when Syria was suspended from the organization. Assad had been boycotted by many Western and Arab states over his brutal crackdown on protests, resulting in violence that led to a protracted civil war.
Syria's return to the 22-member body would be mostly symbolic but reflects a change in the regional approach toward the Syrian conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the war, which drew in numerous foreign powers and splintered the country.