Turkiye should pull troops out of Syria before restoring ties, says minister

Turkiye should withdraw its forces from northern Syria before restoring ties with Damascus, the Syrian foreign minister has said. Faisal Miqdad made his comment during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow on Tuesday.
“There are entitlements that must be made to repair relations with Turkiye, and we do not have conditions, but the Turkish occupation must be ended,” explained the Syrian official. “If Turkiye wants to restore relations to their previous state, it must withdraw its forces from Syrian territory, and stop its support for terrorist organisations as well as its interference in the internal affairs of Syria.”

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The top Syrian diplomat described Russia and Iran as “friends” and added that they “play a role that demonstrates wisdom and joint keenness to end interventions carried out by forces in Syria.”

Miqdad’s statements came hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was reported by Reuters as saying that Ankara has no preconditions for dialogue with Syria, but any talks should focus on security along their border. Asked about the prospect of any talks, Cavusoglu said that they would need to have specific goals.

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“There cannot be a condition for dialogue, but what is the aim of these contacts?” he told Haber Global. “The country needs to be cleared of terrorists… People [Syrian refugees] need to be able to return.”