State of the Union: Assad has recently signaled himself open to repairing relations with Ankara.
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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that he is open to meeting and working with Syria’s President Bashar al Assad, as “just as we were together in the past, we will act together today.”
Tensions between the two countries were high for much of the 2010s as Turkey intervened in the Syrian civil war on the side of anti-Assad forces. However, in his new comments, Erdogan explicitly stated that “We [the Turks] have no interest in interfering with the internal affairs of Syria.”
Erdogan also stated, “Just as we have held these meetings with Mr. Assad in the past, down to family meetings, there is absolutely no way that it will not happen tomorrow,” indicating that he intends to meet with Assad sooner rather than later.
The move follows comments made by Assad to the Russian Special Envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, expressing his “openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Turkey, which are based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over its entire territory.” These comments represent a softer line from Assad than before, as previously Damascus had demanded the Turkish withdrawal from Syria as a prerequisite to any talks.
Assad’s comments to Lavrentiev also highlight the critical role that Russia has played In the rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meeting with both the Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers in a Moscow conference last May, which also included Iran.
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