Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iran Coordination

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS this morning that Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iran have started work to determine the time and modality for a meeting of their foreign ministers. “The organization of a four-way meeting of foreign ministers has been put on the agenda. Work is underway to determine its modality and time,” said Bogdanov. He noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry that Russia supported participation of Iran in any further talks to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria. “That would make it possible to take advantage of the potential that was built up as part of the Astana process, which proved its effectiveness,” Bogdanov said.