ISTANBUL, July 12. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised that Ankara will soon take concrete steps toward normalizing its relations with Syria, the diplomatic relations with which were severed back in 2012.

"I have instructed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with his colleagues and draft a roadmap for the process. <…> Whenever possible, we say that we are interested in Syria’s territorial integrity. <…> So far, the process [of normalization] is developing positively. I hope that we will take concrete steps soon," the Anadolu agency quoted his as saying upon the arrival from Washington, where he took part in the NATO summit.

According to the Turkish leaders, the United States and Iran should support the process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Syria. "For years, we have been making effort to put out the fire at our neighbor. Our expectation is that no one should interfere into how Syria builds its future. Terrorist organizations will try to spoil this process by means of provocations and playing their own games but we are aware of that and are ready for everything. We want peace in Syria and expect all those who want peace to support our historic call [for normalization]," he said.

When receiving Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev on June 26, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Damascus "is open to all initiatives geared toward improving relations with Turkey, if this process is based on the respect to sovereignty and Syria’s striving to restore it over the entire territory of the country." On June 28, Erdogan said that Ankara was ready to resume diplomatic relations with Damascus.