ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday (Jul 7) mentioned he may invite his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to Türkiye “at any second”, in an indication of reconciliation after the 2011 battle broke ties between Ankara and Damascus.
Erdogan’s feedback come after tensions have mounted over the previous week after a mob went on the rampage, vandalising companies and properties owned by Syrians in a central Anatolian metropolis.
“We might ship an invite (to Assad) at any second,” Erdogan advised journalists aboard a aircraft from Berlin the place he watched Euro 2024, the official Anadolu information company and different media reported.
Türkiye initially aimed to topple Assad’s regime when the Syrian battle erupted with the violent suppression of peaceable protesters in 2011 and backed rebels calling for his ouster.
However extra just lately, Ankara has shifted focus to stopping what Erdogan in 2019 dubbed a “terror hall” from opening up in northern Syria.
He has lengthy mentioned he may rethink ties with Assad as his authorities is working to make sure protected and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.
Talking to journalists, Erdogan mentioned some leaders together with Russian President Vladimir Putin advised to mediate a gathering with Assad in Türkiye.
“Now we’ve got come to such some extent that as quickly as Bashar al-Assad takes a step in direction of bettering relations with Türkiye, we’ll present him the identical method,” Erdogan mentioned.
VIOLENCE
Turkish authorities this week detained over 470 folks after anti-Syrian riots in a number of cities sparked by accusations {that a} Syrian man had allegedly harassed a Syrian minor in Kayseri.
Erdogan on Monday blamed the opposition for stoking tensions and condemned the anti-Syrian violence as “unacceptable”.
The destiny of Syrian refugees is a burning challenge in Turkish politics, with Erdogan’s opponents in final 12 months’s presidential election promising to ship them again to Syria.
