Ankara says Turkish, Syrian leaders may meet for counter-terrorism talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has not ruled out the possibility of a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian leaders.

He made the remarks on the air of A Haber TV channel, commenting on the results of the May 10 Moscow talks held between foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria.

"First we had bilateral talks with the Russian foreign minister. Then there was a quadrilateral meeting," Cavusoglu said.

According to him, border security and the territorial integrity of Syria were among the priority issues.

Türkiye has never had any claim on Syrian territories, Ankara's goal is to fight terrorism, in particular the cleansing of territories from ISIS and PKK terrorists, Cavusoglu stressed.

He said that the Moscow talks came to conclusion to continue contacts at the level of deputy foreign ministers to create a roadmap for the development of Turkish-Syrian ties. The working group will also include representatives from defence and intelligence agencies, he said.

"We will continue contacts at the level of foreign ministers. Once a roadmap has been worked out and the necessary framework has been formed, talks at the level of leaders are possible," Cavusoglu said.