Turkish FM: Work is underway for a meeting with Syrian counterpart

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said work is underway to set a date before the end of this month for a trilateral meeting in Moscow between Turkish, Syrian and Russian foreign ministers and after that, it would be up to President Tayyip Erdogan to decide whether he would meet his Syrian counterpart Bashar al Assad.

During a press briefing in the plane coming back from Brazil where he joined the inauguration of President Lula da Silva and the funeral of late football player Pele, Cavusoglu reminded Erdogan’s statement about “gradual dialogue” with Syria.

“First the intelligence and defense ministers, then the foreign ministers, then the leaders. Let us meet first,” he said.

Cavusoglu also made clear any normalization between Turkey and the Syrian regime would not contradict the interests of the Syrian opposition.

“Our main goal in Syria is to establish lasting stability and peace,” he said.

Cavusoglu earlier met with the representatives of the Syrian opposition in Ankara after demonstrations that condemned the rapprochement between Turkey and Syria.

Cavusoglu said many immigrants are expected to go back to Syria after the civil war but they have to be safe.

“The regime says it wants to cooperate with the return of Syrians. But it is not as if we will hand over people to the regime, let them do whatever they want," Cavusoglu said.