Turkish delegation visits Syrian president in Damascus

DAMASCUS

DHA Photo

Vatan Party (VP) Chairman Doğu Perinçek and a Turkish delegation accompanying him has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

The group, which included former AKP deputy and deputy prime minister Abdullatif Şener and former Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Birgül Ayman Güler, visited al-Assad in the Syrian capital, Syrian state-run news Agency SANA reported on March 3.

The Syrian president was quoted as saying “real cooperation among countries is needed to fight the scourge of terrorism,” during his meeting with the Turkish delegation.

He reportedly said he views the Turkish delegation’s visit as an indicator that “real relations between countries are built by the people and not the governments.”

“Combating terrorism needs, in parallel to battling with the terrorists, having people pressure their governments to halt their support to those,” he also said.

Sana reported that he said governments may follow inward-looking and subversive policies that are not in the people’s interest.

“This is what the Turkish government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is doing, providing support to extremist and takfiri forces to win the favor of his masters through implementing their plots,” he said.

For their part, the Turkish figures stressed that the vast majority of the Turkish people still believe in the fraternal relationship with the Syrian people and are opposed to Erdoğan’s involvement in backing terrorism in Syria that poses a threat to all, Sana reported.

The group arrived in Damascus on Feb. 28 upon al-Assad’s invitation, and met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and a delegation from the Baath Party on March 2. The visit will come to an end on March 3.