Russia voices readiness to host Syria-Turkey meetings

According to Sputnik news agency's report, Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy of the Russian President for the Middle East and North Africa Affairs said in a speech on Monday that Moscow welcomes the proposal to hold a meeting of the foreign ministers of Syria and Turkey and is ready if necessary to host it.

Referring to the developments in Syria and the country's relations with Turkey, Bogdanov added that Russia welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's stance regarding the possibility of meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.

He further said, "Russia is also ready to interact with America about Syria."

Turkish media recently quoted President Erdogan as saying that he would have met with President Assad at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan had he been there.

Reuters also claimed on Thursday that Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mamlouk had met in Damascus in the past few weeks and discussed the meeting of officials of the two countries at a higher level.

MNA/5593325