Istanbul, Dec 15, (dpa/GNA) – Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday called for a joint summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to discuss a “terror threat” in Syria’s north, among others.
Such a meeting would be the first official contact between Turkish and Syrian leaders in over a decade. Ankara, which severed diplomatic relations with Damascus at the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, however recently called for a rapprochement.
The proposed summit could follow meetings between spy agencies, foreign ministers and defence ministers, Erdogan said, according to state news agency Anadolu, urging “swift” steps in northern Syria.
Putin welcomed the proposal, Erdogan said, without elaborating on the Syrian side’s approach.
For nearly a month, Ankara has been carrying out an air offensive in northern Syria, which is largely controlled by the Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Defence Units (YPG).
Turkey considers the US-backed group as terrorists.
Erdogan had in the past called al-Assad a “murderer” but recently shared interest in meeting him in person.
After more than 11 years of civil war, al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, controls around two-thirds of the country.
Turkey, which backs anti-Assad militias, controls areas in northern Syria, and has announced that it wants to extend this to a wide border strip.
GNA