President Bashar Assad’s response to President Erdogan’s call for talks
Asked about the issue, Assad said, “As I have said many times, we are open to any efforts to improve relations, and this is natural. No one is thinking about it,” according to Syrian state news agency SANA. “We have problems with our neighbors, but this means going beyond the rules,” he replied, “and it doesn’t mean we should do that.” Assad said he would meet with Erdogan “if the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syrian territory is on the agenda.”
Assad also commented on Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statement yesterday regarding talks with Syria, saying: “There are no secrets for us, there are no secrets in Syria, everything is open.”
what happened?
President Erdogan called for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“We have now reached a point where President Bashar Assad needs to take a step towards improving relations between our two countries,” Erdogan told reporters on a plane after Turkey’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match against the Netherlands in Germany. “Turkey, we will show that attitude towards him,” he said. “Yesterday, we were meeting with Assad as a family because we were not Syria’s enemies.”
“We will send an invitation. With this invitation, we want to bring Turkish-Syrian relations to the same level as in the past. Our invitation can come true at any time. Putin has an approach to meet in Turkey,” Erdogan said. The Iraqi prime minister has spoken about mediation. “Why not try mediation with a neighboring country?”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan assessed relations with Syria at a joint press conference with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Ferhan.
“The region has now reached an atmosphere of peace and stability. The spirit of the times compels us to seek peace and stability. That is why our president has used his leadership vision to make a call for peace,” Fidan said in a statement. “This is a very worthy call. I hope it will be appreciated. They understand that this does not stop their helplessness and weakness.
“President Erdogan made this call reflecting his vision of peace,” Fidan said. “This is an important call. We urge you to take this call into consideration.”
