Today, Turkish-Russian talks will be held in Istanbul on Sunday, with the participation of the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, expected to focus on the Libyan and Syrian files after the recent developments in them, and Turkish-Iranian talks will be held separately.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Al-Hajj said that he did not announce the visit of Russian Foreign and Defense Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shoygo until yesterday evening, adding that the situation in Libya and Syria will lead their discussions with their Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavişoوlu and Khulisi Akar.
He added that a meeting will be held in parallel between representatives of the intelligence and army in the two countries, noting that the Turkish-Russian talks will also address the issue of the Russian S-400 missile system that Turkey acquired last year, in addition to regional, trade and tourism affairs.
The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that during the Istanbul talks, each side is expected to present to the other party its demands regarding the situations in Libya and Syria, which Ankara and Moscow adopt conflicting positions on.
In this context, he pointed out to Turkey's refusal that retired Major General Khalifa Hifter should have a role in any upcoming understandings in Libya, and its desire to maintain and maintain the ceasefire in northern Syria, while Moscow announced its support for the initiative that Egypt offered about Libya that includes a ceasefire, Ankara has rejected it as an attempt to save Hifter.
Today's Turkish-Russian talks come in light of field and political developments in Libya and Syria, where the Libyan National Accord government recently favored Haftar’s forces thanks to Turkish support, while northern Syria witnessed for the first time in nearly three months air strikes and clashes.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoوlu will also meet in Istanbul today with his Iranian counterpart Mehmet Javad Zarif, to discuss developments in Libya and Syria and bilateral relations.