Türkiye says withdrawal conditions for direct talks with Syria 'unacceptable'

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Ankara will not accept any preconditions for direct talks with Syrian leaders, including the withdrawal of its troops from Syrian territory.

"Further contacts with Syria are possible, but there is still a lot of work to be done. And we will not accept any preconditions. We will not accept the condition of withdrawal of our troops from Syria for negotiations. We will leave and threats will start against us again," he told Habertürk TV on April 13.

The minister recalled that under earlier agreements Damascus was supposed to remove all border threats against Türkiye, but Ankara still sees them. He meant the activities of Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which are recognised as terrorist groups in Türkiye.

Regarding the quadrilateral talks on Syria, which involve Türkiye, Russia, Syria, and Iran, Cavusoglu pointed out that "the negotiation process should already be revived and work to find a solution".

"There is a need to resume the political process. There is no other choice left. There is the Astana process, which involves both the regime (representatives of the official Syrian authorities - TASS commentary) and the opposition. And the opposition has its own forces," the minister said.

Cavusoglu believes it is necessary to restart the political process "within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2254". At the same time, he claims that "the Syrian regime still has no desire to resolve the situation politically and prefers a military solution."

Assessing Iran's role in the quadrilateral mechanism, Cavusolgu said he "cannot call it destructive". "I would not say that its role so far has been destructive. Inviting Iran was, of course, a Russian initiative. What matters is what contribution Iran will make to the solution in the future," he said. He also reiterated that Ankara "received information from the Russian side about the possibility of holding a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries in early May" and was continuing contacts with Moscow on this issue.