New details about the first meeting between Erdogan and Assad in this country

The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied, on Tuesday, that there are arrangements for a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al Assad on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai cooperation Organization summit.

According to the Turkish Anadolu news agency, the minister ruled out holding the meeting on the sidelines of the summit scheduled for September 15-16 in Uzbekistan, and told a news station that Assad was “not invited” to the meeting.

Cavusoglu stressed the need to take steps for a lasting peace in Syria.

He pointed out that Türkiye stressed from the beginning the importance of the political process in the country.

The Turkish denial comes after news that Russia is making efforts to hold a meeting between Erdogan and Assad in order to achieve a rapprochement between Türkiye and the Syrian government.

Earlier, the Iranian “Tasnim” news agency reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al Assad “may meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which is expected to be held next September in Uzbekistan”.

The agency quoted sources as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin “invited Erdogan to participate in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, and Putin also asked Assad to participate in this meeting”.

It is noteworthy that the regular summit of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be held next September in the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, which is currently the head of the organization.

The Iranian “Tasnim” news agency quoted sources as saying that the Turkish and Syrian presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al Assad, may meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in September in Uzbekistan.

Earlier, Erdogan said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin invited him to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meeting in Uzbekistan in September.

The agency wrote in this regard that “the Russian President (Vladimir Putin) invited Erdogan to participate in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan.

Putin also asked Assad to participate in this meeting.

The agency indicated that the leader of the Turkish “Homeland” party, Dogu Perincek, will soon travel to Syria as part of a political and diplomatic delegation, where he will meet and hold talks with Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

“Tasnim” quoted information that “Berncik will be accompanied on this trip by a number of former ministers and veterans of the Turkish diplomacy, and a report on the results of this trip will be submitted to the Turkish authorities”.

It was pointed out in this context that this flight will take place on a private plane with 12 seats, and this flight will be the first from a Turkish airport to Damascus in 10 years, as direct flights between the two countries have not been operated since 2011.

The Iranian agency stated that “the focus of this trip will be on ways to restore relations, the joint struggle against terrorism in northern Syria, and the return of Syrian refugees.

Based on the information received, if this meeting is positive and satisfied Damascus and Ankara, perhaps he will meet the leaders of the two countries on the sidelines of the next meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, which will be held in the last days of September.

In the same context, Fuad Ugur, a writer in the newspaper “Türkiye”, which is described as being close to the Turkish government, reported a possible meeting between the presidents of Türkiye and Syria.

On the other hand, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Tuesday, that “there is a dialogue taking place between the Syrian and Turkish intelligence services”.

Cavusoglu stressed that “Türkiye doesn’t have preconditions for dialogue with Syria,” noting that “dialogue with the Syrian government must have specific goals”.

The Turkish minister said: “A meeting between the Turkish and Syrian presidents in Shanghai was not planned, because Assad will not participate in the summit,” as he put it.