Turkish and Syrian defence and security officials meet for first time in decade

Move towards peaceful relations between Ankara and Damascus represents cause for alarm for more than 4 million refugees

Top Turkish and Syrian defence and security officials have held their first public meeting in more than a decade, in a dramatic shift towards normalising relations between the two countries after Ankara backed rebels during Syria’s civil war.

Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar and the head of the country’s national intelligence organisation (MIT), Hakan Fidan, met Syrian defence minister, Ali Mahmoud Abbas, and notorious spy chief Ali Mamlouk in Moscow, in a meeting attended by Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.