Lasting peace, security among goals pursued in four-party talks in Moscow: Iran defense min.

The Iranian defense minister says achieving lasting peace and security topped the agenda of the four-party talks in Moscow between the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran.

“The four-party talks between Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria were held with the important goal of achieving lasting peace and security in the region,” Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei said.

He made the remarks following separate meetings with his Russian, Syrian and Turkish counterparts in Moscow on Tuesday, as part of four-way talks aimed at normalizing ties and easing tensions between Ankara and Damascus.

He added that combating terrorism is the demand of all nations in the West Asia region, stressing the goal can be achieved only through joint efforts by regional countries.

“The fight against various forms of terrorism is the demand of all the nations of the region, and this goal will not be realized except with joint efforts and coordination and cooperation of regional countries,” Ashtiani noted.

“Our efforts and those of Russia to normalize Turkey-Syria relations was one of the goals of this quadrilateral meeting,” Iran’s defense minister added. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is serious about [facilitating] direct dialogue between Syria and Turkey as two influential neighboring countries in the region, and supports cooperation between the two countries.”

Stressing that the Islamic Republic has always worked towards promotion of peace, stability and security in the region, Ashtiani said, “Iran's participation in the four-party meeting in Moscow is a clear example of this issue.”

Syrian, Turkish, Russian defense ministers hold talks, first time since 2011

Syrian, Turkish and Russian defense ministers have held surprise talks in Moscow to discuss the crisis in the Arab country, the first high-level contact between Damascus and Ankara since 2011.

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.

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad conditioned any potential meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Turkey’s withdrawal of troops from northern Syria.

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