Turkey: meeting between Erdogan and Al-Assad possible
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Turkish foreign minister says that meeting with Syrian opposition to be held on Tuesday to exchange views.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told TRT on Tuesday that the possibility of holding a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian presidents will be decided following talks between the country's foreign ministers.
"It would not be right to make such predictions. In the end, a decision should be taken by the President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan]. But there is something that our president has said: 'There will be a phased dialogue.' There should be a meeting between the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs, then between the foreign ministers and then leaders," the minister said as quoted by Turkish Sabah newspaper.
Turkey's top diplomat stressed that the US did not ask Ankara questions regarding the recent communications with Damascus.
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"Washington did not ask questions like ‘what are these contacts? what's going on?’ but we believe that they [the US] are against the normalization process," Cavusoglu stated, noting that Washington's long approach towards Syria failed and the war there must be put to an end, however, he added, contacts with Syrian authorities does not mean quick normalization of relations between the two countries.
Cavusoglu announced in the interview that he will hold a meeting with officials from the Syrian opposition on Tuesday.
"There was contact between the Syrian opposition and Turkey. Meetings were held with the Syrian opposition, both in the foreign ministry and in other relevant institutions. On the afternoon of January 3, I will also meet with representatives of the opposition," he said.
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Cavusoglu said during the interview that Syria has conveyed its desire to work with Turkey regarding the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.
"The issues of education, healthcare, as well as projects to establish appropriate living conditions, are important. In this regard, international contacts with the Syrian authorities have become important. Damascus has expressed desire to cooperate on the issue of refugee return," he said.
The minister commented on previous talks between Damascus and the opposition in Geneva and Astana stating that there was no outcome, adding that his country expects to exchange views with the Syrian opposition prior to political talks with Damascus.
According to Cavusoglu, Ankara expects an exchange of views with the opposition before the start of political negotiations with Damascus.
Earlier last week, Cavusoglu announced Ankara's intention to transfer control over the areas where Turkish forces are present in Syria to Damascus if political stability is achieved and indicated the possibility of joint work in the future with the Syrian authorities to combat terrorism.
Cavusoglu revealed on December 31, after a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, that Ankara proposed holding a meeting between the foreign ministers of Syria and Turkey in a third country during the second half of next January.
The possible meeting would be the second at the ministerial level, after the "constructive" meeting that brought together the defense ministers of the two countries in Moscow last Wednesday in the first official meeting between Ankara and Damascus in 11 years.
On December 15, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had offered Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a meeting between the three leaders, which will be preceded by a meeting of the heads of the intelligence services, defense, and foreign ministries.
