Al Assad says he is willing to meet with Erdogan, but with one condition

The president of Syria, Bashar al Assad, declared this Thursday that he is willing to meet “today” with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but on the condition that Turkish troops withdraw from Syrian territory.

In an interview with the RIA Novosti agency, Al Assad stated that a possible meeting with Erdogan is conditional on Turkey “being clearly and unequivocally ready for the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, ceasing its support for terrorism” and contributing to the restoration of the Syrian state.

According to Bashar al Assad, Ankara played a negative role in the conflict in Syrian territory, supporting groups that Damascus considers terrorists and deploying its troops in the Arab country. “For us, Türkiye is an occupying State,” the president stressed.

Assad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss the development of bilateral relations and cooperation between Russia and Syria in the political, humanitarian and economic-trade spheres, as well as prospects for resolving the conflict in the Arab country. With RT

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