Rhino: Agencies – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he does not rule out the possibility of a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to help him restore bilateral ties between the two countries.

Turkey severed ties with Syria after the Syrian civil war in 2011 and has backed rebels who want to oust Assad.

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

But amid a regional push to normalize relations with Gulf states, Turkey also says it may restore ties with Damascus if progress is made in the fight against terrorism, in the safe and voluntary return of millions of refugees hosted by Turkey, and in the political process.

Erdogan said Ankara and Damascus may move to restore ties when journalists asked him about reports that Assad said his government is open to normalization initiatives as long as they respect Syria’s sovereignty and contribute to the fight against terrorism.

“There is no reason why this should not happen,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey has no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.

He continued after Friday prayers: “Just as we have kept our relations very vibrant in the past. “It is certainly not possible to say that this will not happen again in the future, it can happen). Syrian officials have consistently said that any moves towards normalizing relations between Damascus and Ankara can only happen after Turkey agrees to withdraw the thousands of troops it has deployed in Syria’s opposition-held northwest.

In April 2023, the intelligence chiefs of Iran, Russia, Syria and Turkey held talks as part of an effort to rebuild Turkish-Syrian relations after years of hostility.