Moscow Will Host Russia, Turkey, Iran And Syria Meetings, Discuss What?

President Putin, President Erdogan and President Raisi at the Astana Format meeting in Tehran in 2022. (Source: Presidency of The Republic of Turkey)

JAKARTA - A one-on-one talk between deputy foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, Iran and Syria will be held in Moscow in early April, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted on Monday by the Russian government-owned news agency, RIA.

The situation in Syria and the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus will be the main focus of the consultation, which was previously scheduled for mid-March as preparation for a higher-level meeting between Turkish, Russian, Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers.

The talks, which were originally proposed by Moscow and later postponed for "technical reasons", will eventually pave the way for leaders of the four countries to meet.

Although the date has not been confirmed by the other three parties, the meeting of these foreign ministers will mark another high-level talks since the Syrian war began in 2011.

Tehran expressed its willingness to participate in the meeting, during the visit of Hossein Amirabdollahian's top diplomat to Ankara in early March.

"Iran supports the disbursement of relations between Turkey and Syria, two important countries in West Asia," Amirabdollahian told reporters with his partner Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevl\"aut 01, who also assured him, "Iran is ready to play his role in easing dissent between Damascus and Ankara," as reported by Daily Sabah on March 28.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently also indicated that he could meet with President Bashar Assad to discuss a resurgence of relations, after their defense minister held an important meeting in Moscow in December to discuss counterterrorism efforts in Syria, agreeing to resume a tripartite meeting to ensure stability in the war-torn country and a wider region.

Analysts say Moscow wants to bridge the gap between the two countries that see the same "enemy" in terrorist groups such as the PKK and the Syrian branch of the YPG, backed by Washington, which pose a threat to Turkey and Syria's territorial integrity.

In a rare visit abroad, President Assad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 15 to discuss Ankara-Damaskus relations, where he stressed that Syria supports dialogue "if it leads to the achievement of the interests of the Syrian people and the unity and integrity of Syrian territory and leads to clear results."

The conflict in Syria that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions of people and pulled regional powers and the world, has entered its 12th year, even though fighting has subsided.

With support from Russia and Iran, the President's Administration of Assad has taken control of much of Syria. Turkish-backed opposition fighters still control a bag in the northwest, and YPG terrorists also control territory near the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Washington does not support countries that are rebuilding relations with President Assad.

"We do not support countries that enhance their relations or express support for rehabilitating brutal dictator Bashar Assad," said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, after a meeting in Moscow.

The US primarily partnered with the YPG in fighting ISIS in Syria, but Ankara strongly opposed the presence of PKK/YPG in the region, where they carried out attacks on Turkish territory and terrorized Syrian citizens.

It is known, the Astana Format Meeting from guarantor countries remains the only way to a political solution for now.