Turkish Foreign Ministry denies reports of a possible meeting between Erdogan and Assad in Moscow
A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official has confirmed that reports of a planned meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Bashar al Assad in Moscow are not true.
According to ANKA news agency who quoted the Turkish official as saying, “Reports claiming that our president will hold a meeting in Moscow with Syrian President Assad aren’t true”.
The Turkish Sabah newspaper, which is close to the government, previously reported, citing a source, that the first meeting between Erdogan and Assad since 2011 could be held in Moscow in August.
Sabah newspaper also noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani may be invited to attend the meeting, while Iran won’t be invited.
On June 26, Syrian President Bashar al Assad, during his meeting with Alexander Lavrentyev, the Russian President’s Special Representative for the Syrian Settlement, expressed Damascus’ openness to initiatives aimed at improving relations with Türkiye, provided that Syria’s sovereignty is respected and control over all of its territory is restored.
On June 28, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his willingness to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus, which were severed in 2012.
He also stated on July 12 that he had instructed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with his counterparts and prepare a roadmap for the normalization process.
