Turkey should withdraw from Syria: Syrian President

“Our goal is the Turkish withdrawal from the Syrian lands."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/08/31 20:16

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures during an interview with AFP in the capital Damascus on February 11, 2016 (Photo: AFP/JOSEPH EID/Getty Images)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – President Bashar Assad on Thursday in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian repeated that Turkey should withdraw from Syria, Syria’s state agency SANA reported

He reportedly said this is a necessary condition for relations to normalize with Turkey.

President Assad in early August told Sky News Arabia that he is not willing to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Our goal is the Turkish withdrawal from the Syrian lands, while Erdogan’s goal is to legitimize the presence of the Turkish occupation in Syria. Therefore, the meeting cannot take place under Erdogan’s conditions.”

On July 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told media representatives that he was willing to meet with President Assad, but not to withdraw from Syria.

Russia has attempted to push Turkey to mend relations with Damascus and has facilitated discussions among high-ranking foreign ministry officials from Turkey, Syria, and Iran.

However, so far the leaders of Turkey and Syria were not willing to meet each other.