Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expects the Syrian government to take steps to normalize relations with Turkey and has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help in convincing Damascus to engage in this process, Turkish private NTV TV reported, quoted by BTA.
Speaking to journalists on the plane returning from the BRICS meeting in Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Erdogan commented on the process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Syria.
The Turkish leader once again emphasized Turkey's support for the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria and the establishment of a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in that country.
"Our main expectation is that the Syrian administration understands the benefits of a sincere and realistic normalization of relations with Turkey and takes the appropriate steps. I hope that in the coming period we will see a constructive step in this regard and build the normalization between Turkey and Syria," Erdogan said.
In this context, the Turkish president also mentioned the influence that Russia is known to have on the Syrian administration, saying that in his talks with Putin he discussed all these issues, the position and expectations of the Turkish side.
"We have called on Mr. Putin to take a step to ensure that Bashar al-Assad responds to our call," he said.