Turkish President Recep Erdogan has not ruled out a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to to restore bilateral relations between the two countries, reported Reuters.
Turkey severed ties with Syria after the Syrian civil war in 2011 and backed rebels seeking to topple Assad. Turkey has carried out several cross-border military operations against extremists it says threaten its national security and has formed a "safe zone" in northern Syria.
Turkey has indicated that it may restore ties with Damascus if there is progress on the fight against terrorism, the safe and voluntary return of millions of refugees hosted by Turkey and on the political process.
According to Erdogan, the restoration of relations with Syria is possible. According to him, there is no reason why this should not happen. He emphasized that Turkey has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Syria.
Syrian officials have repeatedly said that any steps towards normalizing ties between Damascus and Ankara can only come after Turkey agrees to withdraw troops it has deployed in the rebel-held northwest.