Syria and Turkey plan to rebuild ties after Moscow meeting

Foreign ministers of two countries agree to pursue goal through further talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov headed a meeting with the foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey and Iran in Moscow on Wednesday. EPA

Syria and Turkey have agreed to set up a “road map” to improve strained ties following talks alongside Russia and Iran in Moscow on Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, Turkey has supported rebel efforts to topple President Bashar Al Assad, and maintains a military presence in northern Syria that angers Damascus.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently made up with former rivals across the region and is now courting a presidential summit with Mr Al Assad.

Talks to establish a plan to improve relations between Turkey and Syria would be done in co-ordination with the four countries' defence ministries.

“The ministers noted the positive and constructive atmosphere of the exchange of views and agreed to continue high-level contacts and technical talks in the quadripartite format in the coming period,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after the talks.

The ministry called for more international aid to Syria, not only to help the country's struggling population but also “in the interests of voluntary, safe and dignified” refugee returns and postwar reconstruction.

The efforts towards a Turkish-Syrian reconciliation come with Mr Erdogan under intense pressure at home to send Syrian refugees back amid a steep economic downturn and increasing anti-refugee sentiment.

He is seeking re-election on Sunday, when Turkey holds both presidential and parliamentary polls.

State media quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad as saying during Wednesday's meeting that Syria and Turkey “share goals and common interests”.

“Despite all the negatives over the past years,” he said, Damascus saw the talks as an opportunity “for both governments to co-operate with the help and support of our friends Russia and Iran”.

Yet Mr Mekdad added that the Syrian government’s “main goal” was to end all “illegal” military presence in the country, including that of Turkish forces.

“We will continue to demand and insist on the subject of withdrawal,” he was quoted as saying.

The agreement comes a week after Syrian and Arab governments, meeting in Jordan, agreed to establish a road map of their own to resolve the country's lengthy civil war and bolster ties.

Syria has been slowly restoring ties with its neighbours.

The Arab League readmitted Syria on Sunday after suspending its membership when the civil war broke out.

Saudi Arabia delivered a formal invitation to Mr Al Assad on Wednesday to attend the group's summit in Jeddah next week.

Russia intervened militarily in Syria in September 2015. Alongside Iran, Moscow played a pivotal role in keeping Mr Al Assad in power and helping him to reclaim much of the country from rebel forces.

Moscow has spent years trying to help Damascus rebuild ties with Turkey and other countries that were fractured in the war, which has killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced half of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million.