Syrian President Bashar Assad called for a joint strategy that defines the foundations and objectives of the quartet negotiations between Syria, Türkiye, Russia and Iran.

His remarks came during a meeting with Ali Asghar Khaji, the Iranian deputy foreign minister.

A statement by the Syrian Presidency said that Assad underlined the importance of coordination in the quartet meetings and the Astana agreement.

He also called for the development of a joint strategy that “determines the foundations and clarifies precisely the headings and objectives upon which the upcoming negotiations are based, whether with regards to the Turkish withdrawal from Syrian territory, combating terrorism or other issues.”

The Syrian president stressed the importance of setting a time frame and implementation mechanisms for these files, in cooperation with the Russian and Iranian sides, the statement added.

Earlier this month, the Syrian Al-Watan newspaper quoted sources in Moscow as saying that the deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Türkiye will meet in June to discuss the Syrian crisis. The sources added that the meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Astana track, which is scheduled to take place on June 21.

Meanwhile, the Russian President’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Efimov, affirmed that the meetings of the Syrian-Turkish-Russian-Iranian quartet “are achieving positive results.”

In statements to Al-Watan newspaper in its Monday issue, he said that the transition of Damascus and Ankara to direct public contacts, after more than 10 years of severance of relations, was in itself a great success.

“It is difficult, within a few weeks or months, to restore what was destroyed over 12 years. A lot of hard work awaits us in this direction…” Efimov added.