Moscow on Friday welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's proposal to establish a three-way mechanism for diplomacy between Türkiye, Russia and Syria, Russian state news agencies reported, citing a deputy foreign minister.
The RIA Novosti news agency also reported that Syria's position on the idea, which could involve a summit between the leaders of the three countries, was not yet known, but that Moscow was in contact with officials in Damascus.
Türkiye on Thursday expressed willingness to collaborate with Syria and Russia in its counterterror efforts.
"Currently, we want to take a step with Syria and Russia, as a trio. For this, first, our intelligence organizations should come together, then our defense ministers and then our foreign ministers should meet," Erdoğan told reporters aboard the presidential plane returning from his trip to Turkmenistan.
Saying that leaders of Türkiye, Russia and Syria could also meet for talks after the meeting of intelligence, defense and foreign officials, Erdoğan said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin welcomed this proposal in their most recent discussions over the phone.
Emphasizing that the terrorist group is active in Syria, especially in its northern parts, Erdoğan said his country will take matters into its own hands if countries like the United States continue to provide "thousands of truck-loads" of weapons, ammunition, tools and equipment to terrorists in Syria.
