Assad says reconciliation efforts with Turkey have yielded no outcomes

Reuters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated on August 25 that efforts to fix relations with Turkey had not introduced any concrete outcomes thus far.

“The initiatives didn’t yield any noteworthy outcomes regardless of the actual seriousness and enthusiasm of the mediators,” Assad stated in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to reconciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.

Turkey lower ties with Syria in 2011 after the beginning of the Syrian civil warfare, wherein it backed rebels looking for to oust Assad. Assad regards the rebels as terrorists.

“The reply is openness,” Assad stated. “Restoring a relationship requires first eradicating the causes that led to its destruction.”

The Syrian president made it clear that though he wished Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for negotiations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated earlier in July that he would prolong an invite to Assad “at any time” for potential talks to revive ties.

A Turkish newspaper earlier reported that Erdoğan and Assad might meet in August, however a Turkish diplomat denied the report.

Russia has been making an attempt to facilitate a gathering between the 2 leaders in an effort to revive relations. Iraq additionally stated in July that it’d attempt to deliver the 2 leaders collectively.