FM: Assad Will Not Meet Erdogan Until Turkish Forces Withdraw from Syria

Syria’s foreign minister Said President Bashar Al-Assad will only meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan when Turkey completely withdraws its military forces from the Northern part of Syria.

“Damascus would not normalize relations with Turkey, which occupies swathes of land in Syria,” Faisal Mekdad said. He made the remarks in an interview with Russia’s RT Arabic television news network in Damascus on Sunday.

Mekdad added that Assad’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart would depend on the full pullout of Turkish forces from Syrian territory.

Back in March, Assad stated that there was no point in a meeting with Erdogan until Turkey’s “illegal occupation” ended.