Turkey’s formal and unequivocal announcement that its forces will exit completely from Syrian territory is "the gateway to re-establish communication between the two sides," the Head of the Syrian delegation, Deputy Foreign Affairs, and Expatriates Minister Ayman Sousan, affirmed.

Sousan stressed that restoring the situation in the northeast and northwest of Syria requires conditions to preserve the country’s sovereignty and unity. Withdrawing illegal forces, combating terrorism, and restoring the Syrian state’s control over all of its territory are a priority to reach this goal.

Read more: Syria lays three conditions for normalizing ties with Turkey in Russia

Ahead of the quadripartite meeting of the assistant foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Turkey that began on Tuesday at the Russian Foreign Ministry's guest palace in Moscow, Sousan had noted in a speech that Syria has been the target of an unprecedented terrorist war during the past 12 years.

Sousan also mentioned the unlimited planning and full support from some Western, regional, and Arab countries, noting that terrorists came from more than 100 countries, according to UN reports.

“Unfortunately, this was through neighboring countries,” he added.

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"We thank the Russian and Iranian friends for their valuable assistance to Syria in confronting terrorism, and we appreciate their supportive position throughout these years, but on the other hand, we cannot overlook the fact that other countries have taken a different path, as they took advantage of the situation created by this war to illegally send their forces to Syria and be present on its territory without any invitation or coordination with the legitimate government, not to mention their support to terrorist groups in Syria," Sousan said.

Sousan stressed that the legal description of the illegitimate military presence on Syrian lands, is very clear, as it contravenes international law provisions and UN Charter principles. It also contradicts good-neighborly relations and all Security Council resolutions related to Syria, he added.

No international legal provisions give the right to any country whatsoever to violate the sovereignty of another country or to intervene militarily in their lands, under any pretext, Sousan stressed, without the consent of the concerned country.

Sousan mentioned Syria's readiness to cooperate within the framework of respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing the importance of dialogue with all countries to resolve the crisis, keeping in mind the best interest of the Syrian people and realizing security and stability in this unstable region.

“This, of course, includes Turkey, with which a long common border brings us together, as the earthquake incident that struck Syria and Turkey on the last February 6th affirmed that politics cannot ignore the facts of history, geography, common interests, strong bond between the two friendly peoples," Sousan said.

It is worth noting that earlier today, the state news agency SANA reported that the Syrian delegation was going to focus during the quadripartite meeting on three points, "Ending the illegal Turkish presence on Syrian territory, non-interference in the Syrian internal affairs, and combating terrorism in all its forms.”

The Russian, Syrian, and Turkish defense ministers held talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, earlier in December 2022 where they discussed means of resolving the Syrian crisis.

After the meeting, the defense ministers highlighted how the dialogue was constructive, stressing the need for all three parties to hold further talks to bring more stability to Syria and the whole region.