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Iran FM in Russia to talk Syria-Turkey reconciliation while vowing to boost Assad's military 

Prior to the Moscow meeting, Tehran pledged readiness to equip Syria with the latest Iran-made weaponry, the shipment of which has been eased by the 2020 expiry of a UN arms embargo on the Islamic Republic. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shake hands during a joint news conference as part of their meeting in Moscow, on Aug. 31, 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shake hands during a joint news conference as part of their meeting in Moscow, on Aug. 31, 2022. — MAXIM SHEMETOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Moscow on Tuesday to attend a four-way meeting with his Syrian, Turkish and Russian counterparts in a summit hosted by the Kremlin. 

Prior to the Iranian minister's departure, the spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, told reporters in Tehran that the Iranian side is pushing to "bridge differences" between Syria and Turkey and help cement peace and stability in the region. 

The four-way meeting is expected to focus on tensions between Syria and Turkey. Ankara has frequently threatened to launch a ground incursion into Syria's north, where control of swaths of territory by Kurdish fighters has unsettled the Turkish government. Such relative autonomy, Turkey fears, would pose a menace to its security if not inspire its marginalized Kurdish minority. 

"We understand Turkey's security concerns in Syria," Kanaani said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. He noted, however, that Ankara's worries could be alleviated with dialogue rather than a military solution.  

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