The crucial summit on Syria between Turkey, Russia and Iran started as planned on Tuesday in Moscow, with the murder of Andrey Karlov, Russia's ambassador to Ankara, casting a shadow over the talks.
Before the trilateral meeting, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held a bilateral meeting. Çavuşoğlu said that the attack on Russia's ambassador to Ankara was aimed at Turkish-Russian relations. He added that the Turkish people are just as upset about the death of the ambassador as the Russian people.
"Karlov was a good diplomat, a good person," he said, adding that the perpetrators of the attack must be identified. Çavuşoğlu also confirmed that a joint investigation team with Russian experts will be formed to reveal the motive behind the attack.
Lavrov said that Moscow is willing to seek agreements that will improve the humanitarian situation in Syria and help the political procession but "will not offer any concession to terrorists."
The street of the Russian embassy in Ankara will be renamed Karlov Street, after the murdered ambassador's last name.
Foreign Ministers Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Sergey Lavrov and Mohammad Javad Zarif will discuss the latest developments in Syria's Aleppo in today's meeting.