Exclusive-Turkey, Syria could meet at ministerial level if conditions suitable, Ankara says

Turkey's Defence Minister Yasar Guler attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. /Johanna Geron/File Photo

ANKARA - Turkey and Syria could meet at the ministerial level as part of efforts to normalise ties if suitable conditions are created, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters in an interview.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last month he would be inviting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to discuss normalising ties, which Ankara severed after the 2011 Syrian war. But, Assad has said such talks could only happen if the neighbours focus on core issues, including the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the north of Syria.

-(Reuters)