Turkish FM: Dialogue taking place between Ankara, Damascus
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Mevlut Cavusoglu claims Turkey does not have preconditions regarding the dialogue with Syria, but notes that the dialogue must have specific goals.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced Tuesday that a dialogue is taking place between the Syrian and Turkish intelligence services.
Cavusoglu revealed that Ankara does not have preconditions regarding the dialogue with Syria, but that the dialogue must have specific goals.
"From the very beginning, Turkey said that the most important process is the political one," he said, adding that Syria should not see the opposition as terrorists.
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Furthermore, he said that no meeting was planned between the Turkish and Syrian presidents in Shanghai, "because [Syrian President Bashar] Al-Assad will not participate in the summit."
Earlier today, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad may meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which is expected to be held on September 15-16 in Uzbekistan.
Tasnim underlined that the meeting would take place on the condition of the meeting between the Turkish delegation and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
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The agency also quoted sources as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Erdogan to participate in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, and Putin also asked Assad to participate in this meeting.
On Saturday, the head of the Patriotic Party (Vatan Partisi), Dogu Perincek, revealed that his party is preparing a delegation to travel to Syria, pointing out that several Turkish officials will accompany him on his trip to Damascus.
