UPDATE - Turkish, Russian foreign ministers meet in Moscow for talks

ADDS TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER'S REMARKS, BACKGROUND

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) — The foreign ministers of Türkiye and Russia met for talks in Moscow on Wednesday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov held a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers between Türkiye, Russia, Iran, and the Syrian regime.

"Prior to Quadripartite Meeting met w/FM Lavrov. Discussed developments in Syria, Caucasus, Ukraine & Grain Deal," Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

During the quadrilateral meeting, the ministers are expected to exchange views on the normalization of Türkiye-Syria ties and discuss counter-terrorism, the political process to end the war in Syria, and humanitarian matters including the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Syrians who left their home country due to the war.

Last December, defense ministers and intelligence chiefs from 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.