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Turkey hopes Iran will play constructive role in Syria thaw

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu acknowledged difficulties so far but called on Iran to make a constructive contribution to the high-level talks between Turkey, Syria and Russia.
(L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo before a trilateral meeting on Syria in Tehran on July 19, 2022. (Photo by Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday tacitly acknowledged the difficulty of including Iran in high-level talks between the Turkish and Syrian governments.

Asked whether Iran played a destructive or constructive role, Cavusoglu chuckled and said he couldn’t describe Tehran’s role as destructive so far. “But of course it has been a Russian initiative. From now on, the contribution that Iran will make will be important,” he told Turkey’s private HaberTurk television in an exclusive interview. 

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