Moscow - (AFP) - The Turkish and Syrian defense ministers met Wednesday, within the framework of a meeting in Moscow with their Russian counterpart, in the first official meeting of this level between Ankara and Damascus since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011.

The Russian Ministry of Defense indicated in a statement that "trilateral talks took place in Moscow between the defense ministers of the Russian Federation, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey ."

The ministry stated that the talks between Russian Defense Ministers Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Syrian Ali Mahmoud Abbas dealt with "ways to solve the Syrian crisis and the refugee issue," as well as "joint efforts to combat extremist groups."

The ministry added that "the parties stressed the constructive nature of the dialogue in the form in which it was held and the need to continue it in order to establish stability" in Syria.

And the Syrian Arab News Agency "SANA" reported that "a tripartite session of talks was held today (Wednesday) in Moscow between the defense ministers of Syria, Russia and Turkey, in which they discussed means of a solution in Syria, the issue of refugees and efforts to combat terrorism."

The agency pointed out that "the importance and necessity of continuing dialogue was stressed in order to stabilize the situation in the region."

Later, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, "Today, a meeting took place between the Syrian Minister of Defense and the Major General, Director of the Syrian General Intelligence Department, with their counterparts, the Turkish Minister of Defense and the head of the Turkish Intelligence Service, in the Russian capital, Moscow, with the participation of the Russian party. The two sides discussed many files, and the meeting was positive."

In turn, the Turkish Minister of Defense indicated that the meeting was held in a "positive atmosphere."

The meeting is the first official at the ministerial level between Turkey and Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and the resulting tension in relations between Ankara and Damascus.

The foreign ministers of the two countries had held a brief informal conversation on the sidelines of a regional summit held in 2021, and Ankara had previously acknowledged communication at the level of the intelligence services.

According to Turkish media, the director of the Turkish intelligence services, Hakan Fidan, was present in Moscow on Wednesday.

The meeting between Akar and Abbas comes at a time when Erdogan has been threatening for weeks to launch a military attack in northern Syria against Kurdish groups.

Last week, Akar indicated that Ankara is in contact with Moscow in order to "open the Syrian airspace" to Turkish fighters.

At the beginning of 2011, Syria witnessed demonstrations against the government, which quickly turned into an armed conflict, which greatly strained relations between Damascus and Ankara.

With the start of the conflict, Turkey strongly opposed the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Ashd, supported Syrian opposition factions, and received about four million Syrian refugees.

The conflict in Syria has killed about half a million people, caused massive damage to infrastructure and productive sectors, and led to the displacement of millions of people inside and outside the country.

However, Turkey, which is currently deploying troops in Syria, has recently changed its stance towards Damascus in the midst of Ankara's efforts to strengthen its relations with Arab countries.

In recent years, Erdogan has repeatedly described Assad as a "murderer", but last month he indicated the "possibility" of holding a meeting with him.

In mid-December, Erdogan indicated the possibility of meeting Assad after meetings at the level of the defense and foreign ministers.