Türkiye wants peace in region, says foreign minister on Syria

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Negotiations between Syria and Türkiye have been conducted at various levels in the past, and Ankara wants peace in the region, the Turkish foreign minister said on Sunday.

Hakan Fidan’s remarks came during a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who is visiting Türkiye.

Fidan added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for peace in neighboring Syria is “important,” urging that it be heeded.

He added that Ankara is not changing its stance on the Syrian opposition.

The remarks came in the wake of Erdogan saying that Fidan and Turkish diplomats are working on a possible presidential meeting of Erdogan and Syria’s Bashar Assad, the first one in well over a decade.

On cease-fire talks between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel, Fidan said that Hamas accepting conditions on a cease-fire is seen by Israel as “weakness, surrender,” something he called “highly dangerous,” expressing the need to put more pressure on Israel, a point Erdogan has also stressed.​​​​​​​