US wary of Syria-Turkey political rapprochement

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Jan 16:07
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The US attempts to provide yet another pretext for the US opposition to any kind of solution to the Syrian crisis.

Ned Price, Department Spokesperson (US Embassy in Tunisia)

The US State Department Spokesperson said Washington does not support upgrading relations with Syria, expressing the US' position on the trilateral relations between Turkey, Russia, and Syria,

Addressing reporters in his weekly press briefing, Ned Price expressed Washington's stance over the political rapprochement Ankara seeks with Damascus.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price commented on this issue, by saying, "Well, as I understand it, this was a trilateral engagement involving Syria, Turkey, and the Russian Federation as well. Our policy, which is all I can speak to, it – has not changed," in reference to trilateral talks which were lately held between defense ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey in Moscow to discuss ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, the issue of refugees, and joint efforts to combat extremist groups in Syria.

The talks marked the first official meeting between Ankara and Damascus in 11 years.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Price has tersely stated that “Washington does not support countries improving their relations or showing support for Bashar al-Assad’s administration.”

In a speech during the end-of-year assessment meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it is possible to establish joint work in the future if common ground is formed between Syria and Turkey in terms of combating terrorism.

Cavusoglu has also revealed that a meeting between the Turkish, Syrian and Russian presidents has been scheduled, but not for January.

In early October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad when the time was right, noting that there were modest talks between Ankara and Damascus.