Aleppo siege | Russia, Turkey, Iran to meet in Moscow on Syria

Syrian family carry their belongings after they crossed into Turkey

The Russian military said defense ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet in Moscow to discuss Syria.

The meeting, due today, will coincide with the meeting of the three nation’s foreign ministers, also in the Russian capital.

The military said yesterday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will host his Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehghan and Turkey’s Fikri Isik.

It says they will discuss ways to resolve the Syrian conflict and help implement U.N. Security Council’s resolutions on Syria.

Turkey says some 4,500 people have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo since midnight, as a fragile cease-fire in Syria resumed.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said through his Twitter account yesterday that a total of 12,000 people have so far been evacuated from the besieged city to an area under opposition control.

The evacuations were made possible through a cease-fire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey that paved way for rebels and civilians to leave the last opposition-held enclave in the city.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency says a total of 131 wounded people — including 46 children — were brought to Turkey for treatment since the evacuations began last week.

The agency says five of them have since died.

Russia is allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey is a leading sponsor of the opposition battling to topple him. AP