Talks on reconciliation between Syria and Turkey described as ‘frank and direct’

Syrian, Turkish, Russian, and Iranian deputy foreign ministers have wrapped up two days of talks on reconciliation between Syria and Turkey without setting a date or a venue for a meeting to plan for a summit.

Russia described discussions as “frank and direct” while Turkey said they were conducted in a “transparent and clear manner”.

During the talks, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov urged the Syrian and Turkish sides to adopt flexibility and a constructive attitude, eschew confrontational rhetoric and seek common ground.

He said Moscow and Tehran would seek to create conditions for further talks between the opposing sides in the Syrian war.

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The conflict has devastated the country and killed more than 350,000 combatants and civilians, according to the UN.

Turkish president RecepTayyip Erdogan has waged proxy war against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad since 2011. Tehran has deployed paramilitaries to reinforce the Syrian army and Moscow has provided air support which enabled Mr Assad to regain control of 70 per cent of the country.

Eager to end clashes between pro- and anti-Assad forces in northern Syria and achieve rapprochement between Mr Assad and Mr Erdogan, Russia brought their defence ministers together in December.

That encounter was seen by regional commentators as a game-changer which signified Mr Erdogan’s admission that his campaign to oust Mr Assad had failed.

Russia has pressed for an Assad-Erdogan summit in recent months to boost Mr Erdogan’s flagging bid for another term in office in Turkey’s May 14th presidential and parliamentary elections.

He has come under fire for Turkey’s intervention in Syria which led 3.5 million Syrians to take refuge in Turkey.

During a summit, Mr Erdogan could be expected to call for repatriation of Syrian refugees – who are blamed by many Turks for the country’s economic crisis – and for the Syrian army to take control from Kurdish paramilitaries of the Syrian-Turkish border.

Mr Assad has conditioned reconciliation on Turkish commitments to withdraw Turkish and surrogate forces from occupied Syrian enclaves and the northwest Idlib province, abjure interference in Syrian affairs and respect Syrian territorial integrity and sovereignty.

During last month’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Mr Assad stuck to these demands despite Russian pressure to meet Mr Erdogan.

Mr Assad’s regional position has strengthened since the February earthquake which devastated Turkey and Syria and prompted Arab governments to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian quake victims.

This ended Syria’s ostracism by some Arab governments after Mr Assad cracked down on protests in 2011 and has given impetus to the successful effort by the United Arab Emirates to restore Syrian-Saudi relations.

Syria’s 12-year Arab League suspension is expected to be lifted in advance of the Riyadh Arab summit in May.