Turkish normalization of relations with Syria still possible: Erdogan
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces that there is still a possibility of normalizing relations with Syria.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AA)
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could not rule out the possibility of soon normalizing relations with Syria.
According to Anadolu, Erdogan said "Just as relations between [Turkey] and Egypt take shape, ties with Syria can follow the same path in the next period; there is no room for hard feelings in politics."
Earlier in September, the Turkish intelligence chief held multiple meetings with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus, which indicates a sign of Russian efforts to encourage a thaw between the two states, four sources revealed.
The head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Hakan Fidan, and the head of Syria's intelligence service, Ali Mamlouk, just recently met in the Syrian capital, according to a local source close to Damascus.
The most recent meetings - including a two-day visit by Fidan to Damascus at the end of August - had sought to lay the ground for sessions at a higher level, the source said.
Reuters quoted the regional source who is close to President Al-Assad as saying that the Turkish-Syrian contacts had made a lot of progress, without giving details.
A third regional source said Turkish-Syrian relations had begun to thaw and were advancing to a stage of "creating a climate for understanding."
Read more: Russia, Turkey disagree over Syria, but can openly discuss it: Peskov
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
