Turkey 'has no preconditions' for dialogue with Syrian regime

Turkey does not have preconditions for dialogue with the Syrian regime, according to Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday, news which marks a further softening of Ankara's stance after a decade of hostility.

Turkey has backed rebels fighting to topple Syria's President Bashar al-Assad throughout the nearly 11-year conflict, and cut diplomatic relations with the regime early on.

But the two sides' intelligence chiefs have maintained contact and recent comments from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government suggest a move towards political engagement, alarming Assad's opponents in the remaining pocket of rebel-held Syria.

Cavusoglu said two weeks ago that the Syrian opposition and Assad must be brought together for reconciliation, and Erdogan said diplomatic relations could never be fully cut.

After visiting Russia, which has strongly backed the regime, Erdogan said President Vladimir Putin had suggested that Turkey cooperate with Assad along their joint border. Erdogan is planning a further military incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters he says pose a security threat along the border.

Turkey, which has carried out four military operations in northern Syria since 2016, says it is creating a safe zone where some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it is currently hosting could return.

'No conditions for dialogue'

Asked about the prospect for any talks, Cavusoglu said they would need to have specific goals.

"There cannot be a condition for dialogue, but what is the aim of these contacts? The country needs to be cleared of terrorists… People need to be able to return," Cavusoglu told broadcaster Haber Global.

"No conditions for dialogue, but what is the aim, the target? It needs to be goal-oriented," he said.

Cavusoglu revealed earlier this month that he briefly spoke with the Syrian regime's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad last year on the margins of an international gathering, though he played down the significance of their meeting.

Asked last week about potential talks with the Assad regime, Erdogan said diplomacy between states can never be fully severed.

There is a "need to take further steps with Syria", he said, according to a transcript of his comments to Turkish media.

Around 3,000 people demonstrated on 12 August in the Syrian town of Azaz, which is controlled by Turkey-backed rebel forces, pledging to continue their opposition to Assad.

(Reuters)