Iran ready to assist normalizing ties between Turkey, Syria

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the Russian capital on Wednesday before the start of the quadrilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Russia.

Congratulating Syria's readmission to the Arab League, Amir-Abdollahian expressed the Islamic Republic of Iran's support for advancing the quadrilateral meeting in order to normalize the relations between Turkey and Syria.

Mekdad also emphasized the importance of the political settlement of the issues between Syria and Turkey, stating that the most important issue in this process is the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian lands.

He also described the Turkish presence in Syria as an obstacle to the normalization of relations between Damascus and Ankara.

Earlier on Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian upon his arrival in Moscow, expressed hope that Syria and Turkey would reach a political solution on re-establishing their diplomatic ties and withdrawal of foreign forces from northern Syria.

He also expressed hope that the Moscow meeting would pave the way for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland as soon as possible.

Issuing a statement, the Syria Foreign Ministry announced that in this summit, the Syrian delegation will emphasize the need to end the occupation of Turkey and withdrawal of illegal foreign forces from Syrian territory and stop supporting terrorism.