ANKARA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Ankara could start a new normalization process with Damascus, and he might extend an invitation to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We may have an invitation to Putin and Bashar al-Assad. If Mr. Putin visits Türkiye, this could mark the beginning of a new process," Erdogan said, while answering journalists' questions on his return flight from Kazakhstan to Türkiye.
"We have always extended a friendly hand to our neighbor. We will stand by Syria, which welcomes us based on a fair and inclusive new social contract," he said.
Erdogan added that "the winds of peace that will blow in Syria and the climate of peace that will emerge throughout Syria are also required for millions of people to return to their country."
Türkiye and Syria severed formal diplomatic relations in 2012 as the Syrian civil war began. Türkiye supported the opposition groups fighting against the Assad government. In recent years, there have been hints of improvement in relations, but no significant progress has been achieved. Türkiye has been hosting more than 3.1 million registered Syrians.
Russia, the Syrian government's main support, has recently intensified efforts to normalize ties between Türkiye and Syria.
Assad said in June that his country remains open to initiatives regarding its relationship with Türkiye, highlighting the importance of respecting Syria's sovereignty and combating terrorism as the basis for any effort to improve Syrian-Turkish relations. ■
