While Moscow has already planned a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey for talks on Syria, the defense ministers of the three countries have also agreed to discuss issues of mutual interest in the Russian capital on Tuesday.
Defense Minister Lieutenant General Hossein Dehqan, his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoygu and his Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik are scheduled to meet in Moscow for talks on latest developments in Syria, particularly after the liberation of the city of Aleppo from terrorist groups, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Reports of the ministerial meeting came after a separate plan for a trilateral meeting of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russia's Sergey Lavrov and Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu in Russia on the same day. The meeting of foreign ministers was initially slated for December 27, but Iran and Russia decided to convene it a week earlier, considering the rapid pace of developments in Syria.
The Syrian Army took nearly all remaining terrorist-held parts of Aleppo last week after a four-year battle. Hundreds of foreign-backed militants have surrendered in Aleppo in recent days. However, the evacuation of people from Aleppo has been disrupted several times, as insurgent groups violated terms of an agreement with the Syrian government by making uncooperative moves such as attempting to take hostages.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group, controlling parts of it.
