Russia says keen on Syria summit with Turkey, France, Germany

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Wednesday said Moscow was keen to see four-way talks with Turkey, France and Germany take place to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Ushakov said that, as far as he knows, all sides have agreed to hold the talks in Istanbul and advisers have been tasked with working out an appropriate date.

"The four countries are interested in holding this summit, and the issue is entrusted to [the leaders'] aides on foreign policy issues. Maybe sometime, within 10 days, my colleagues and I will have a contact during which we, perhaps, will work out the agenda of a possible summit, then report to our leaders, and then agree on a date," the aide said.

According to Ushakov, all four parties agree on Istanbul as the likely venue for the summit.

In July, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would convene a summit to take up regional issues, primarily Syria, with Russia, Germany and France.

Erdoğan will travel to Iran for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for a summit on Syria this Friday.