A new round of talks between Turkey and Syria will take place in Moscow this week with the purpose of normalizing the strained relations between Ankara and Damascus.
On Tuesday, Russia will host the talks, which will also include the participation of regional power Iran.
According to Turkey’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, the meeting will be attended by the defense and intelligence chiefs of all four countries.
The objective of the talks is to repair the severed ties between Ankara and its ally Damascus, which began with the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011. Despite previously labeling Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as a “murderer”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently expressed interest in organizing a peace-building summit with him. Erdogan’s efforts have been endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.