Turkey:

Future Contacts with Damascus over Syrian Kurds Likely

TEHRAN (defapress)- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not ruled out the possibility of future contacts with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to counter the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a media outlet reported.

News ID: 67139

Date: 25 November 2017 - 15:03

"Whatever happens tomorrow, it all depends on the circumstances. It is inexpedient to say 'never'. The doors of politics are always open until the last moment," Erdogan said answering the question about whether Ankara's contacts with Assad were possible on the issue of combating YPG, Sputnik quoted the Turkish-language Hurriyet daily as reporting.

The YPG, which Ankara considers to be associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, banned in the country, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.

According to the Turkish president, so far Ankara has not initiated any contacts with Assad, including through mediators.

However, previously media reports speculated that Ankara had been making efforts to seek a thaw with Damascus, however, President Bashar Assad has repeatedly reiterated his stance that he does not consider Ankara as a partner and accused it of undermining political and social crisis settlement in Syria.

Erdogan's statement comes in the wake of the meeting between Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani and Erdogan in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday, where they reaffirmed their commitment to continue de-escalation efforts in Syria within the framework of the Astana process, as well as cooperation for the final defeat of terrorists.