Following Assad’s speech, Foreign Ministry sources outlined four conditions for Turkey-Syria relations to return to pre-2011 levels.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament recently, “It is not true that Turkish officials say from time to time that Syria will not meet with the Turks if there is no withdrawal. This is far from reality.” “In order to restore a relationship, the causes that led to the destruction must first be eliminated,” Assad said, adding that Syria wanted Turkish troops to withdraw from its territory, but that this was not a precondition for talks.
Syrian President Assad said, “It is not true that Turkish officials say from time to time that Syria will not meet with the Turks if there is no withdrawal. This is far from reality.”
Turkey’s four conditions
Speaking to TRT Haber, Foreign Ministry sources revealed Turkey’s four conditions for the return of relations to pre-2011 levels. According to the report, Ankara has the following four conditions for the normalization of relations with Syria:
“- Syria must be free of terrorist elements in order to preserve its territorial integrity and unity;
– Syria must achieve a genuine national reconciliation with its own people on the basis of the legitimate demands and expectations of its own people within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2254;
– In connection with this, the necessary conditions for safe and dignified returns must be created;
– Humanitarian aid must continue uninterruptedly.”
Efforts for ‘normalization’ with Syria
On June 28, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “There is no reason why diplomatic relations should not be established,” and on July 7, he said that they could extend an invitation for a possible meeting with Syrian President Assad “at any moment.”
Stating that they would respond to a positive step, Erdoğan said, “As soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step towards restoring relations with Turkey, we will show that approach towards him. Because we were not enemies with Syria yesterday, we were meeting with Assad as a family. We will make our invitation. With this invitation, we want to bring Turkey-Syria relations to the same point as in the past.”
However, Syrian President Assad has said that such talks can only take place if they focus on core issues, including the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria. On August 12, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler told the British news agency Reuters that Turkey and Syria could meet at the ministerial level as part of efforts to normalize relations.
Güler said the neighbors could meet again at the ministerial level as part of Ankara’s “regional charm offensive” launched in 2020 if the right conditions are created. “We are ready to give all the support we can to adopt a comprehensive constitution, to hold free elections, to create a comprehensive normalization and security environment, and only when this is done and the security of our border is fully ensured, we will do what is necessary through mutual coordination,” Güler said.