Turkish, Iranian foreign ministers hold sideline talks in Moscow

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday met in Russia's capital Moscow.

"Syria, high level bilateral visits, economic & energy cooperation were on the agenda in our meeting w/@Amirabdolahian in Moscow," Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.

Çavuşoğlu and Amirabdollahian held a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of a four-way meeting of the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran, and the Syrian regime.

At the meeting, participants exchanged views on efforts to normalize relations between Türkiye and Syria and discussed counter-terrorism, political processes, and humanitarian matters, including the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Syrians now in Türkiye, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Last December, the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia, and the Syrian regime met in Moscow and agreed to continue tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region.

Iran was also included in the talks, with Türkiye previously saying that Ankara would be "pleased if Iran is involved in this process."

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.