Erdogan to mull Syrian crisis with Iran General Staff’s chief

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri will discuss the settlement of the Syrian crisis, Turkish media reported Aug. 16.

The meeting between Erdogan and Bagheri will be held at the presidential palace in Ankara, Trend reported.

Bagheri arrived in Ankara on Aug. 15 at the invitation of Chief of the General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar.

He had a meeting with Akar, and they discussed the settlement of the Syrian conflict and the fight against terrorism.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the United Nations, has claimed more than 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The "Islamic State”, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.