President Erdogan: Turkey Will Always Hold Out Friendship To Syria

JAKARTA - Turkey is ready to always support a united, prosperous and peaceful Syria after a fair, honorable and inclusive agreement, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

President Erdogan expressed this amid the temporary recovery of Turkish-Syria relations which were cut off at the start of the civil war in Syria more than a decade ago.

"Turkey has always extended a friendly to Syria and will continue to do so, as long as Syria begins this hug and recovers in every way," President Erdogan said, quoted by the Daily Sabah of July 5.

Speaking to reporters on his flight from Kazakhstan to Germany, President Erdogan believes the latest calm on the Syrian civil warground that has been going on for 13 years, "smart policies" and "unbiased approaches" could carve a path to permanent peace in neighboring Turkey.

"If Russian President Vladimir Putin and (Syria Leader) Bashar Assad visit Turkey at our invitation, it could be the start of a new process," Erdogan said, referring to Putin's acceptance of his invitation at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) in Astana on Thursday.

The Turkish president proposed restoring relations with Damascus last Friday, days after President Assad said Syria was open to all initiatives to revive Turkey-Syria relations, "as long as it is based on respect for the sovereignty of the Syrian state over all of its territory and fighting all forms of terrorism."

President Assad also wants Turkish troops to support the opposition and fight PKK/YPG terrorists from northern Syria. Turkey says its support for the Syrian opposition armed forces aims to ensure northern Syria is terror-free just across the Turkish border, which experienced several cross-border attacks by PKK in the past, and that it respects Syrian sovereignty.

Turkey-Suriah relations declined in 1998 when Turkey accused Syria of supporting the PKK, a terrorist group responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in its decades-long terror campaign against Turkey.

Tensions escalated in 2011 following the start of Syria's civil war and the subsequent influx of migrants, which amounted to more than 4 million.

President Erdogan said the years-long civil war clearly showed everyone the need for a permanent solution in Syria.

Eradication of terrorism is essential to building a future for Syria," he added.

He also criticized the PKK, YPG and Daesh (ISIS) for being "disturbed" by the possibility of normalization, arguing they were against it "because they don't want Syria to recover."

"There are many formations in northern Syria, including those who want to immediately improve their relationship with Turkey," President Erdogan said.