Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joins legislators elected to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in the May 14 parliamentary elections and attend their first parliamentary session to take the oath, in Ankara, Türkiye, June 2, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he is open to meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but only if the meeting is unconditional and requires no preconditions.
Erdogan made the remarks during a press conference in Istanbul, just before his departure for Saudi Arabia.
"We are not closed to a meeting with Bashar al-Assad," said the Turkish leader. "Unfortunately, Assad wants Türkiye to get out of northern Syria. There cannot be such a thing because we are countering terrorism there," he added.
Since 2016, Türkiye has conducted four major military operations in Syria, specifically targeting the Islamic State extremists and the Syrian Kurdish militias, which Ankara regards as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is outlawed in Türkiye.
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Türkiye and its allies control several regions in northwestern Syria.