Moscow welcomes Erdogan's initiative for the Russia-Turkey-Syria summit

Shafaq News/ Moscow welcomes the Turkish President's proposal for a Russia-Syria-Turkey summit, a Russian diplomat said on Friday.

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and the special representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, deemed Erdogan's initiative "Positive."

"We always welcome bringing relations between sovereign neighbors back to normal, and this has been repeatedly mentioned at all levels," Bogdanov said.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country sought three-way meetings between Ankara, Moscow, and Damascus.

"We want to take a tripartite step as Syria-Turkey-Russia," Erdogan told reporters returning from Turkmenistan, adding that the three countries defense and foreign ministers could come together first.

"Following their meetings, let us get together as the leaders. I offered this to Mr. Putin, and he received it positively. Thus, a series of contacts would be launched." he said.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries broke off in 2012 following the Syrian conflict, and Erdogan became one of the first leaders to call on Assad to step down. In August, Erdogan declared that toppling Assad was no longer on his country's agenda amid Ankara's plans to launch a new ground offensive against Syrian Kurdish groups that it considers "terrorists." In late November, Erdogan expressed interest in a meeting with Assad