Syrian politician: We expect actions from Turkey

Syrian politician: We expect actions from Turkey
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Abu Abdulla, a leader of the Baath Party in Damascus, said Turkey should first withdraw its forces from the occupied areas and end its support for opposition before establishing dialogue.

A senior official from the Assad administration said Turkey’s recent discourse for dialogue with Syria stems from its search for gains from Russia and Iran, but Syria wants to see action, before making any comment about establishing dialogue.

The Syrian government’s silence over Turkish statements regarding communication between Syria and Turkey is a test of the latter’s ability to match its words with deeds, Bassam Abu Abdullah, a leader of the Syrian Baath Party, said.

Last week, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mikdat in Belgrade last year as Russia had been insisting on opening channels of communication between the two countries.

President Tayyip Erdogan also said two weeks ago that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin pointed at talking to the Assad regime to solve security issues involving Syria.

Answering a question on Syria’s comment on these statements, Abu Abdullah, a prominent leader in Baath Party in Damascus, told pro-government al-Watan newspaper that “Damascus does not have to comment on each Turkish statement.”

Any communication between the two countries needs actions and commitments, thus complex work is required, “especially since Turkey occupies Syrian areas and works with mercenary and extremist groups,” Abu Abdullah said.

Syria’s position towards Turkey is “related to its withdrawal from the occupied areas, as well as to ending its support for mercenaries,” Mikdat told Cavusoglu during their brief chat, Abu Abdullah said.

Abdullah also said that Turkish rapprochement comes in turn for gains and interests that Turkey obtains from Russia and Iran, allies of the Syrian government.