President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed his openness to resuming talks with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad.
Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers in İstanbul, Erdoğan responded to a question about whether diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria could be reestablished. The question referenced Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's recent comments during a meeting with Russian representatives, where Assad indicated Syria's willingness to improve relations with Turkey while emphasizing respect for Syrian sovereignty.
Erdoğan said, "There is no reason why relations should not be reestablished. Just as we have cooperated with Syria in the past, we can continue to do so, and we have no intention or goal of interfering in Syria's internal affairs. The Syrian people are our brothers and sisters, with whom we have lived together as a community.
"In the past, we maintained very close relations with Syria, including family meetings with President Assad. There is no reason to say that such cooperation cannot happen again in the future. We have no desire to interfere in Syria's internal matters."
Background
On June 26, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy Alexander Lavrentiev in Damascus. During the meeting, Assad stated, "Syria is open to all initiatives concerning Syrian-Turkish relations, based on Syria's sovereignty over all its territories and the fundamental principle of fighting terrorism and terrorist organizations."
The Syrian government has stipulated that any normalization of relations with Turkey requires the complete withdrawal of Turkish military forces from Syrian territory.
Previously, Assad had said, "Relations cannot normalize as long as Turkey occupies Syrian land," while Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad emphasized that any talks with Turkey must be based on respect for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, ending the occupation, and ceasing support for terrorism. (VC/VK)