High-level officials from Turkey, France, Germany and Russia are expected to arrive in Istanbul on Friday to hold a meeting ahead of a possible quartet summit and discuss a range of regional issues, particularly the Syrian crisis.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously announced on Sept. 9 that the representatives would meet and that a leaders' summit might be held soon. According to Foreign Ministry sources, political advisers from the four countries will be attending the meeting Friday, with Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın expected to represent Turkey in the meeting.

The current situation in Syria's Idlib will likely top the agenda of the summit. Ankara has been reiterating that a full-scale operation targeting Idlib would result in great human suffering. With Russian and regime warplanes' airstrikes continuing in Idlib, the future of the town is still shrouded in uncertainity. The humanitarian concerns of Turkey have been shared by European countries as well, since a new refugee influx would pose a fresh set of challenges in the region.