2024-07-24 03:16:24
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russia “wants Turkey and Syria to mend their relations,” in response to a question about media reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow in August.
Assad had said earlier this month that he would not meet with Erdogan “unless the two countries could focus on the core issues of Ankara’s support for terrorism and the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territory,” according to Reuters.
Turkey severed its relations with Syria in 2011, after the outbreak of popular protests that later turned into an armed conflict that claimed the lives of half a million people, according to United Nations estimates, in addition to displacing about half the population inside and outside the country.
In just one day, the Syrian Civil Defense documented 13 suicide drone attacks on civilian-populated areas in northwestern Syria, threatening a new wave of displacement, humanitarian activists told Alhurra.
Ankara has supported the opposition seeking to overthrow Assad, while the head of the Syrian regime considers the opposition factions to be “terrorist groups.”
Ankara has also established a “safe zone” in northern Syria where Turkish forces are now stationed, and has carried out several cross-border military operations against militants it says “threaten Turkish national security.”
Erdogan said earlier in July that he would invite Assad “at any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
Assad later indicated that he would respond positively to any initiative “aimed at improving bilateral relations, but with the need to first establish a basis for such talks.”
Last update: July 23, 2024 – 23:31
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2024-07-24 03:16:24