Tuesday witnessed a big step closer to Syria-Turkey normalization, following 12 years of a de facto state of war between the countries, given Turkish forces have long occupied strips of territory near the northern Syria border and previously supported a "jihadist highway" into the country in past efforts to overthrow President Assad.

Russia has proposed a normalization process in a four-way meeting held in Moscow between between the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. At the meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov launched a clear "roadmap" for Turkish-Syrian normalization which could later be signed by the heads of state.