UPDATE - Turkey, Russia, Iran to meet in Moscow over Syria

ADDS REMARKS BY RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – A trilateral meeting between Turkey, Russia and Iran on Syria will be held on Tuesday in Moscow, a Turkish diplomatic source said Monday.

Tuesday’s meeting, which was expected to convene on Dec. 27, was moved to an earlier date, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

The source said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel Monday to Moscow, where he will also hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Cavusoglu, Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will discuss the latest developments in Syria's Aleppo.

Lavrov told reporters on Monday Russia would talk to those who can really bring an "improvement" to the situation in Syria.

He said the cooperation with Western countries was "ineffective" since they were busy with "rhetoric and propaganda".

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in Monday's statement that the three countries' defense ministers were also scheduled to meet in Moscow.

In recent weeks, numerous reports have emerged of violence being perpetrated against civilians in Aleppo, once considered an opposition stronghold.

The evacuation process was temporarily suspended on Friday after pro-regime foreign terrorist groups attacked a civilian convoy leaving the city, leaving a number of evacuees dead.

It has resumed Monday under an earlier deal brokered by Turkey and Russia according to which some 20,000 civilians and fighters are to be evacuated from eastern Aleppo on Monday and Tuesday.