ANKARA: Iran on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of the initial direct ministerial discussions between long-time rivals Ankara and Damascus since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago.
Ankara’s ties with Damascus broke down after Ankara began supporting rebel efforts to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Assad a “terrorist” in 2017 and refused to acknowledge the Syrian leader’s rule.
However, Damascus ally Russia managed to arrange the first direct meeting between the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers since 2011 in Moscow in December. Further meetings are tentatively being planned for the coming weeks aimed at paving the way for a historic peace summit between Erdogan and Assad.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian whose government also firmly backs Assad — said Tehran fully supported the reconciliation efforts. “We are very delighted by the fact that relations between Damascus and Ankara are undergoing change,” Amir-Abdollahian said after talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
