During their first meeting since 2011 in Moscow, Turkey’s foreign minister and his Syrian counterpart agreed to develop a road map on Wednesday. Normalizing relationships between the two countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Syrian Ministers Faisal al-Mikdad and Turkish Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and their Russian counterparts Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Hossein Amir Abdullahian asked their representatives. Create a map to reinforce the relationships between Turkey itself AndSyria In coordination with the Defense and Intelligence Ministries of the four countries.

The same source added in a statement that the decision was taken during a meeting in Moscow “in a positive and constructive atmosphere”.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the map will allow Damascus and Ankara to “clearly define their positions on the issues that are their priority,” “restore the control of the Syrian government over the entire territory of the country and firmly guarantee” the security of the border with Turkey, a long 900 kilometers.

“It is important to restore severed logistical ties between the two neighbors and resume economic cooperation without any obstacles,” Lavrov added.

“We are all interested in restoring relations between Syria and Turkey on the basis of mutual equality and respect,” he said.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said, “We fully trust these two countries. They can leave the past behind and look to the future, solving their bilateral problems by strengthening dialogue and cooperation.

The announcement is a diplomatic float for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just days before Sunday’s general election.This is his toughest challenge since he took power earlier 21 years.

At the start of the conflict, Erdogan supported opposition efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and maintained a military presence in the country’s northern regions. But he turned back from this path two years ago after Türkiye was plunged into economic crisis.

He has reconciled with former adversaries in the region and now seeks a summit with Assad. But Syria refused, saying Turkey must withdraw its soldiers first.

In turn, Erdogan’s opponents favor reconciliation with Syria, one of the most prominent headlines of the Turkish election campaign.

Erdogan has pledged to speed up the return of some four million Syrian refugees and migrants who fled to Turkey to escape poverty and war in their country. A condition for that process is reaching an agreement with Damascus.

France 24/AFP