Syria denies contact with Turkey on rebuilding ties, calls reports 'fabricated'

Syria has strongly denied any contact with Ankara contrary to claims made by some Turkish officials, asserting that there can be no cooperation in the fight against terrorism with a country that aids and abets terror.

An unnamed official at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in a statement on Friday termed reports about contacts between Damascus and Ankara as “fabricated”.

“The fabricated news about Turkey’s high-level contacts with the Syrian government, both at political and security levels, comes at the same time as Turkish military forces and their allied terrorists continue their brutal attacks against ordinary people in northern Syria,” the statement quoted the official as saying.

The official hastened to add that the last of such lies about the possibility of cooperation with Syria in the fight against terrorism was made by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Syria denies any kind of contact with the Turkish regimehttps://t.co/j77CeXGCtA

— SANAEnglishOfficial (@SANAEnOfficial) April 22, 2022

“The allegation confirms that Ankara is completely detached from realities, and the plague of lies and hypocrisy has not only struck Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but also all members of his administration,” he noted.

The official in categorical terms emphasized that Syria cannot cooperate in the fight against terrorism with a country “that sponsors, trains, and spreads terrorism in the region and across the world.”

Earlier this month, Turkish media reported that Ankara was assessing the possibility of initiating talks with the Syrian government and that discussions were underway for new relations to be forged between the two neighbors.

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper, citing informed sources, said on April 4 that discussions were taking place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on restoring diplomatic relations between the two sides.

“The balanced policy recently adopted by Turkey and the role that Ankara has played in recent months, especially in resolving the war in Ukraine, have made the current time appropriate for resolving the Syrian crisis,” the Turkish daily said.

Report: Turkey weighs possibility of starting talks with Syria

Turkish media say Ankara is evaluating the possibility of starting talks with the Syrian government and that discussions are underway for new relations to be built between the two neighbors.

Citing sources, the paper said relations between Damascus and Ankara can improve and that the current situation may open a new door of opportunities for Turkey, especially for resolving the Syrian issue and the question of the militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Hurriyet said Ankara was insisting on three issues, which include maintaining the unified structure and territorial integrity of Syria, ensuring the security of refugees returning to their country, and the PKK’s activities.

Turkey has deployed its forces in Syria in violation of the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.

Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means available to the ongoing ground offensive by Turkish forces in the northern part of the Arab country.

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