Turkey responds to Assad's "conditions" to meet Erdogan: Not suitable for normalizing relations between the two countries

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Orhan Meriroglu, a member of the Central Decision and Implementation Committee of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), stressed that Damascus' conditions on negotiations between the Syrian and Turkish presidents are not suitable for normalizing relations between the two countries.

Mirioglu said, in an interview with the Russian agency "Sputnik": "Assad demands that Turkey withdraw from Syrian territory, as a condition for normalizing relations with it, it is not permissible to raise the ceiling of demands in diplomatic relations at the beginning of the talks, if the negotiating parties intend to reconcile, understand and find a solution to differences."

"Assad's start setting preconditions for talks with Turkey gives Turkey the right to demand that Damascus stop supporting the SDF."

"The Syrian army is administering part of Syrian territory in co-operation with the (Kurdish) People's Protection Units (YPG), so what is the position of the armed organisation of the Syrian Democratic Forces in relation to the Syrian army?" he said.

He pointed out that "there is talk about the meeting between Turkish President Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart Assad, and this talk is still in the rehabilitation stage, and in order for this meeting to be achieved, the two parties must use phrases that express their intention to reconcile and rapprochement."

Mirioğlu ruled out a meeting between Erdogan and Assad, ahead of the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for next May, saying: "The possibility of a meeting between Erdogan and Assad, before the Turkish elections, is very weak, but their meeting after the elections will become clear according to the results of the elections and their balances."

He continued: "The conditions after the elections may be assessed according to their results, in the event that the People's Alliance and its candidate for the presidential elections, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, wins, it will follow a foreign policy different from the policy of the current Justice and Development Party government, where the People's Alliance pledges to withdraw from all countries with which Turkey aspires to strengthen its relations and considers it its partner."

"The communication between Damascus and Ankara and the meeting with Assad will be formed according to a new political equation that will result from the elections, and we can talk about this in the new political circumstances," he said.

Asked if Erdogan plans to meet Assad if he wins the presidential election, Mirioğlu said: "If Erdogan wins the presidential election, we will continue our foreign policy as it is now, but the most important issue is how Turkey will look after the elections in front of the world. There are many countries that want to change power in Turkey, especially the United States, part of Europe and some regional players, foremost among them Syrian President Assad."

He added: "If Erdogan wins the elections, we will continue our policy based on achieving the goal of solving our problems with Syria and returning Syrians to their lands safely, and in line with this goal we will seek to meet with the Syrian government and Assad, but this will not be achieved with the concessions demanded by Assad."

He stressed that "the withdrawal of the Turkish army from Syrian territory is out of the question, as long as relations between the PKK and the PYD continue, and the influence of the PKK on the PYD and its strategy in administration."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russia Today that the possibility of holding a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is linked to basic conditions and "if they are met, there is no specific date for meeting Erdogan. It could be today or tomorrow."