Erdogan, Assad hint at restoration of Turkiye-Syria relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday that he is not opposed to meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad to restore bilateral relations between the two countries.

Turkiye severed its relations with Syria after the Syrian Civil War in 2011 and supported opponents who wanted to overthrow Al-Assad.

Ankara has carried out several cross-border military operations against militants that it says threaten its national security and has established a “safe zone” in northern Syria where Turkish forces are currently stationed.

However, amid a regional campaign with the primary goal of normalising relations with the Gulf states, Turkiye also says that it may restore ties with Damascus if progress is made in the fight against terrorism, the safe and voluntary return of millions of refugees hosted by Turkiye and the political process.

When journalists asked him about reports that Al-Assad said that his government is open to normalisation initiatives as long as it respects Syria’s sovereignty and contributes to the fight against terrorism, Erdogan confirmed that Ankara and Damascus may move to restore relations.

“There is no reason why this should not happen,” Erdogan added, noting that Turkiye has no intention of interfering in Syrian internal affairs. “Just as we kept our ties very lively in the past – we even held talks between our families with Mr Assad – it is certainly not possible (to say) this will not happen again in the future. It can happen.”

In April 2023, the intelligence directors of Iran, Russia, Syria and Turkiye held talks as part of efforts to rebuild Turkish-Syrian relations after years of hostility.

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