MOSCOW: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he will only meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if Turkiye withdraws troops from northern Syria, according to a Russian media interview published on Thursday.

His comments come one day after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is seeking to repair ties between Erdogan and Assad severed after the Syrian war broke out in 2011.

Visiting Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad told Russian TV station Sputnik that there was no point in a meeting with Erdogan until Turkiye’s “illegal occupation” ended.

“This is linked to arriving at a stage Turkiye would clearly be ready and without any ambiguity to exit completely from Syrian territory and end its support of terrorism and restore the situation that prevailed before the start of the war on Syria,” Assad told in an interview.

“This is the only situation when it would then be possible to have a meeting between me and Erdogan. Aside from that what’s the value of such a meeting and why would we do it if it would not achieve final results for the war in Syria,” he added in the clearest remarks on the recent rapprochement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “work continues” on a potential meeting between Assad and Erdogan. “A meeting like that has to be preceded by a whole range of preparatory contacts, which are now underway,” Peskov said.

Diplomats from Iran, Russia, Turkiye and Syria were to meet in Moscow this week to pave the way for a foreign ministers’ meeting, according to Turkish media.

Assad acknowledged the role played by Russia in encouraging a rapprochement between Erdogan and himself.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2023