BEIRUT, August 9. /TASS/. Syrian President Bashar Assad has ruled out the possibility of holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan under the conditions when Turkish troops are on Syrian territory, according to the leader’s interview with the Sky News Arabia TV channel.
"The meeting with [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not take place under the conditions proposed by Ankara," he stressed, "Holding talks with him [Erdogan] in the current situation would mean recognizing the Turkish occupation of northern Syria."
Assad accused Turkey of supporting terrorist groups during the conflict that began in Syria in 2011. "Ankara is responsible for the actions of gangs against civilians," he said. "The states that tried to create anarchy in Syria are also responsible for drug trafficking," he said.
Earlier, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad called on Ankara to end its military presence in Syria. According to him, "it is impossible to talk about the normalization of relations with Turkey under the conditions of the continued occupation of the northern regions of Syria."
On April 25, four-party talks were held in Moscow between the defense ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey. The sides discussed practical steps to strengthen security in Syria and normalize Syria-Turkey relations.
On July 9, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said that the leaders of Syria and Turkey could hold a meeting in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the completion of the roadmap for the settlement of Syrian-Turkish relations.