Top Turkish defense and intelligence officials met their Syrian counterparts this week in Moscow at meetings also attended by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
Held on Dec. 28, it was the first meeting between Turkish and Syrian defense ministers in more than a decade.
The gathering, which wasn’t announced in advance, is expected to pave the way for an eventual meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar looks on during a NATO defense ministers meeting, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 24, 2019. (John Thys/Getty Images)
It was also a further sign of warming ties after 10 years of hostility, during which Erdogan had openly called for Assad’s overthrow….