Turkish, Russian foreign and defense ministers discuss Syria

A high-ranking Turkish delegation, led by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, arrived in Moscow on Saturday (Dec. 29) for talks on Syria with their Russian counterparts, DS reported.

Accompanying Cavusoglu to Moscow were Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalın.

"We reviewed the steps we took with the Sochi process and what steps we will take from now on regarding Syria," Cavusoglu said after the 1.5-hour meeting with Russian foreign and defense ministers, adding that Turkey and Russia share the common goal of clearing all terror organizations from Syria.

Cavusoglu said that Turkey will continue close cooperation with Russia and Iranian regime on Syria and regional issues.

Ahead of the meeting, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said that Turkish, Russian foreign and defense ministers will evaluate the implementation of the agreement reached in Istanbul and Idlib and discuss the US withdrawal from Syria.

"We will have the opportunity to discuss once again the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and in the demilitarization zone," Shoygu said.

Washington announced last week it will be withdrawing all of its troops from Syria, following a conversation between Erdogan and US Trump over an imminent Turkish cross-border operation to eliminate PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from northern Syria.