Syria’s Assad says Turkey gives no guarantees
DAMASCUS, Syria– Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday that Turkey has not given us any guarantees, as “we are moving positively on clear principles which are international law and national sovereignty.”
Al-Assad’s statement came as part of a series of statements regarding Syrian-Turkish ties and their normalisation during an interview with al-Mayaden TV Channel earlier on Monday.
The Syrian president reiterated that he will only do the meeting ” if it benefits the country.”
The issue “lies in the content of the meeting,” al-Assad told journalists in Damascus, noting that “support for terrorism, and the withdrawal from Syrian territory” of Turkish troops were the “essence of the problem”.
“We are positive about any initiative to improve relations with Turkey, but this does not mean that we go to dialogue without rules,” al-Assad noted.
He indicated that meetings with Turkey are ongoing, and a high-level security meeting is being prepared, noting that they have no conditions for restoring ties, but they have requirements.
Earlier, al-Assad expressed his readiness to meet Turkey’s president depending on the encounter’s content, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he might invite al-Assad to Turkey.
(North Press)
By Saad al-Yaziji
