Erdogan Says He is Ready to Negotiate with Assad to Restore Turkey-Syria Relations

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, said on Sunday that he is ready to invite his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, to negotiations aimed at restoring relations between the two countries. Erdogan stated that the goal of this invitation is to bring bilateral relations back to 'the same level as before.' He added that any positive step from Damascus would be met with a reciprocal step from Ankara, and that the leaders of Russia and Iraq could help facilitate contact between Turkey and Syria. Last month, the Turkish President did not rule out a possible meeting with his Syrian counterpart to revive bilateral relations. Since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey, under Erdogan's leadership, severed ties with Bashar Assad's government and began supporting some of his opposition groups. In recent years, Turkey has conducted several cross-border offensives, mainly against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria, under the pretext of countering threats to its national security, and has occupied parts of the country under the title of 'safe zones.' Syrian officials have repeatedly stated that any normalization of relations between Damascus and Ankara is conditional on the withdrawal of thousands of Turkish soldiers from the occupied areas in the north and northwest. Turkey claims to have killed 17 Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq and Syria. Erdogan's readiness to meet with Assad has been described by an expert as 'difficult and unlikely.'