Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Friday his country was glad to see a rapprochement between its ally Syria and Türkiye as the two have recently taken steps to thaw ties.
"We are happy with the dialogue taking place between Syria and Türkiye, and we believe it will reflect positively between the two countries," Amirabdollahian said during a diplomatic visit to the Lebanese capital Beirut.
The Turkish and Syrian defense ministers held landmark talks in Moscow last month to discuss border security and other issues. Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he may meet regime leader Bashar Assad after a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting.
In November, Erdoğan said a meeting with Assad was a possibility after cutting diplomatic ties with Damascus throughout the 11-year conflict.
In mid-December, he hinted he could meet with Assad after the meeting of both countries’ defense and foreign ministers. “We want to take a step as Syria, Türkiye and Russia,” he had said.
NATO member Türkiye has played a major part in the conflict, backing Bashar Assad's opponents and sending troops into the north. Moscow is Assad's main ally and Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged reconciliation with Ankara.
The conflict in Syria, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and drawn in regional and world powers, has ground on into a second decade, although fighting has mellowed.
With backing from Russia and Iran, Assad's regime has recovered most of the Syrian territory. Turkish-backed opposition fighters still control a pocket in the northwest, and the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, backed by the United States also controls territory near the Turkish border.
Any normalization between Ankara and Damascus would reshape the decadelong Syrian war. Turkish backing has been vital to sustaining moderate Syrian opposition in their last significant territorial foothold in the northwest after Assad defeated the opposition across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.
