Cavusoglu reveals a short conversation he had with the Syrian Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement meeting last October
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed Thursday that he had a short conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement meeting held last October in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
This came in a press conference held, Thursday, on the sidelines of the 13th conference of Turkish ambassadors, held in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“I had a short conversation with the Syrian Foreign Minister at the meeting of the Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade,” Cavusoglu said.
He stressed the need to achieve reconciliation between the opposition and the government in Syria in some way, indicating that there will be no lasting peace without achieving this.
He added: “There must be a strong will to prevent the division of Syria, and the will that can control all of the country’s territory can only be established through unity”.
Cavusoglu said that his country has begun the process of normalizing relations with Israel and Egypt, indicating that this process doesn’t mean that Ankara has abandoned its principles.
This came during a press conference held, Thursday, at the conclusion of the meetings of the 13th conference of Turkish ambassadors, held in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
He added, “We always say that starting the process of normalization with Israel and Egypt doesn’t mean giving up on our principles, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem”.
Cavusoglu indicated that there are reciprocal steps and dialogue between Türkiye and Israel within the framework of the normalization process.
Cavusoglu added: “When Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited Türkiye, we announced the reappointment of ambassadors again… Now Israel is on the verge of elections, and I do not know whether the appointment of ambassadors will take place before or after, because this step must be from both sides at the same time”.
Cavusoglu expressed his country’s desire for its relations with Egypt to gain the same momentum that happened with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Regarding the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, Cavusoglu referred to the tripartite document concluded between Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki.
In this context, he said: “We haven’t seen any steps taken in this direction… Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled their obligations in the mentioned document”.
He stated that a mechanism had been created at the suggestion of Sweden and Finland to follow up on the concrete steps to be taken in relation to the aforementioned document, expressing his hope that the first meeting of this mechanism would be held on August 26.
