Türkiye, Russia to hold consultations on Middle East

ANKARA

Senior diplomats from Türkiye and Russia will hold consultations over the developments in the Middle East, including Syria and Palestine, Turkish diplomatic sources have said.

According to the sources, Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yılmaz and Russian Deputy Minister Mihail Bogdanov will chair the meetings to be held in Istanbul on April 25.

The two parties will exchange views on the regional matters, especially on Syria and Palestine, in a comprehensive way, the sources said, describing Russia as a country that Türkiye attaches importance to in the context of the developments in the Middle East. 

The meeting comes 10 days after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Türkiye and Russia have long been in cooperation and coordination over Syria, but the context of their dialogue has changed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Dec. 8.

Türkiye is closely following the developments in Syria under the new administration led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and pledging support for the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

It also calls on the international community to provide necessary support to the new administration and lift the sanctions.

Türkiye and Russia have also been discussing terrorism in the Middle East as the former is making sure that there is no place for terrorist organizations in the new Syria.