Türkiye- Syria meeting depends on ‘content’: Assad

DAMASCUS

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that he was open to meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but it depended on the encounter's "content,” as the two countries attempt to revive years of frozen relations.

"If the meeting were to lead to results or... achieve the country's interests, I will do it. But the problem... lies in the content of the meeting," Assad told journalists in Damascus as Syrians voted in parliamentary elections on July 15.

He noted that he would attend such a meeting if it addresses the withdrawal of Turkish troops from northwest Syria.

"We are positive towards any initiative to improve the relationship... but that doesn't mean we go [to a meeting] without rules," Assad added.

Türkiye and Syria have been at odds since the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 plunged the latter into a protracted and devastating conflict. The war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, involved numerous foreign powers and fragmented the country.

Assad has recently shown a willingness to mend ties with Türkiye. In response, earlier this month, Erdoğan said he might invite Assad to Türkiye "at any moment,” in a sign of reconciliation after ties between the two countries soured over the war which broke out in Syria in 2011.

On July 14, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Ankara wants peace in the region, urging Syria to accept normalization calls.

The Russian-mediated direct talks between Turkish and Syrian officials in 2022 ended without success, as Damascus insisted on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territory.

Meanwhile, Syrians voted for members of a new parliament in an election on July 15 that was expected to hold few surprises but could pave the way for a constitutional amendment to extend the term of Assad.

This year, 1,516 government-approved candidates are running for the 250-seat People’s Assembly. Results were not immediately announced.

In 2020, Assad’s Baath Party won 166 seats, in addition to 17 others from allied parties, while 67 seats went to independent candidates.