ISTANBUL, June 28. /TASS/. Turkey is open for initiatives on normalization of relations with neighboring Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"We are open for initiatives on normalization with Syria. There are no reasons not to establish diplomatic relations. We can act together, like we did in the past. We have no intention to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs. You know, that our families with [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad were friends before. I see no reason not to revive that friendship," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

While receiving Russian Special Presidential Representative on settlement in Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, the Syrian president said that Damascus is open to all initiatives, aimed at improvement of relations with Turkey, if this process is based on respect for Syria’s sovereignty and Syria’s aspiration to restore control over the entirety of its territory.

On April 25, 2023, four-side negotiations between Ministers of Defense of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey took place in Moscow. During these negotiations, the sides discussed practical steps on strengthening security in Syria and on normalization of Syrian-Turkish relations. In July 9 that year, Lavrentyev announced that the leaders of Syria and Turkey might hold a meeting in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to complete the work on the roadmap on settlement of Syrian-Turkish relations.

Later, Assad said in an interview with Sky News Arabia that negotiations with Erdogan will remain off the table while Turkish forces remain on Syrian territory.