Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised the need of discussion and diplomacy with Syria, stressing that additional actions are required.
Erdogan noted, in remarks to reporters on the potential of holding talks with Damascus, in a less harsh tone than his earlier statements, that diplomacy between countries cannot be fully shut off.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu resumed his plea for reconciliation between the Syrian government and the opposition last Tuesday, following a similar demand last week that provoked anti-Turkish protests in opposition-controlled regions of Syria.
Cavusoglu remarked during a joint news conference in Ankara with his Latvian colleague Edgars Renkevich that the regime and the opposition must reconcile. This is exactly what I stated.
We think that reconciliation is required to bring about long-term peace in Syria.
During a news conference in Ankara last Thursday, the minister stated: “We must reconcile the regime and the opposition in Syria, otherwise there would be no sustainable peace,” according to AFP.
Ankara has supplied critical assistance to the political and military opposition in Syria since the crisis began in 2011.
It has undertaken three large-scale military operations in Syria since 2016, mostly targeting Kurdish fighters.
Its soldiers, along with Syrian rebels loyal to Ankara, were able to control a significant border area in the country’s north.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long labelled Syrian President Bashar al-administration Assad’s as a lethal dictatorship.
He stated in May that he would not return Syrian refugees to the lips of killers in his nation.
This shift in Turkish policy follows Erdogan’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on August 5, in light of competing Russian and Turkish interests in Syria, where Moscow backs President Bashar al-Assad against rebels largely supported by Ankara.
Despite labelling the regime as a murderer, Erdogan stated: “We do not rule out communication with Syria.”
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