UPDATE - Turkish, Russian, Syrian foreign ministers may meet early February: Ankara

ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AND BACKGROUND

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish, Russian, and Syrian foreign ministers may meet early February, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, without giving a specific timeframe.

"There is no clear date yet, but we will hold this trio meeting as soon as possible. Maybe at the beginning of February," Cavusoglu told reporters in Rwanda.

Türkiye had given date suggestions to Russia, Cavusoglu said, rejecting reports that the ministers will meet next week. "This is not true, but we will hold the tripartite meeting in the upcoming period, this is a fact," he added.

The possible forthcoming meeting between Cavusoglu, Russia's Sergey Lavrov and Syria's Faisal Mekdad would mark another high-level of talks since the Syrian civil war began in early 2011.

On Dec. 28, 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.

- Libya government backs deal with Türkiye

About a Libyan court's suspension of energy exploration deal that the Tripoli government signed with Türkiye last year, Cavusoglu said: "We immediately made contact with (head of the Tripoli-based government Abdul Hamid) Dbeibeh."

"This decision is not the final verdict," Cavusoglu said, stressing that the Libyan government stands behind Türkiye.

"... After all, this cooperation agreement is extremely important for them as the Libyan government and state. They said that they are behind this and will be following it closely," he added.

On Oct. 3, Türkiye and the Government of National Unity of Libya signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons. The deal envisages the development of bilateral scientific, technical, technological, legal, administrative, and commercial cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons, both on land and at sea.

"It is a memorandum of understanding. Just like the memorandums of understanding that Libya signed with other countries, it does not need to be passed by the parliament in Libya," Cavusoglu said.