Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there is no clear timetable for meeting “our Syrian counterparts,” but there is “only a declaration of will.”
Fidan told the Turkish newspaper Sabah on Thursday, that work is underway to determine the date and method of meeting at the leadership level, and to prepare the agenda.
“What I saw in my contacts with the other side is that they are open to negotiation,” Fidan said.
Regarding conditions, Fidan stated that Turkey has not been informed of any preconditions so far, but negotiations are necessary when there is a demand to withdraw Turkish soldiers from Syria, referring to the regime’s condition for Turkish forces to withdraw from their positions in northern Syria.
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Fidan’s statements come after successive Turkish statements about rapprochement with the Syrian regime since June, and Turkish newspapers have mentioned determining the place and date of the meeting, along with news of Russia handing over a draft to the regime and Turkey, reviewing the requests of both parties.
On Wednesday, the Center for Combating Disinformation of the Turkish Presidency denied the claim that Russia had handed over drafts to decision-makers in Turkey and the Syrian regime, including the requests of the two parties that will be accepted within the scope of the binding provisions of the two countries.
On July 22, the Turkish Foreign Ministry denied what was published by the Daily Sabah newspaper that the first meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to be held in Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks.
Omer Çelik, the spokesman for the Justice and Development party, commented on the expected meeting between Erdogan and Assad, saying that the Russian president has a will in this context, and work on the issue is continuing.
Çelik explained that the intelligence institutions of the two sides meet at regular intervals, but the issue must reach the political level and then the framework set by the foreign ministers is presented to the Turkish president and Assad.
A calendar can then be established, whether through negotiations between states or an intermediary state, as the issue needs to mature.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
