Watan-Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made controversial statements regarding the Gaza war, in which he mentioned that the normalization steps between Turkey and the Syrian regime have now become “impossible” due to the situation in the Palestinian territory.
During a press conference held after attending the Antalya Forum, Lavrov stated, “We continue to work on normalizing relations between Syria and Turkey and are interested in doing so, but the steps have become impossible due to the conditions of the war in Gaza.”
The Russian news agency “Novosti” quoted the minister as saying, “What is happening in other areas directly affects all participants in this process (normalization between the Assad regime and Turkey).”
Sergei Lavrov said that practical steps to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria are now “not possible” due to the situation in the Gaza Strip.
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Controversial linkage
Lavrov controversially linked the consequences of the Gaza war to the relationship between Turkey and the Syrian regime, stating, “The American airstrikes on specific targets belonging to Iran-affiliated forces, and the airstrikes in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have a direct impact.”
The Russian minister pointed out that such actions “distract attention from the natural process of building relations between Syria and Turkey” with the participation of the Russian side, as reported by media outlets.
Claims of Assad-Erdogan Meeting
A few days ago, the Turkish Presidency denied in a statement all information suggesting any meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad.
Media outlets also recalled the conditions for normalization between Syria and Turkey.
The Turkish Presidency commented on allegations of a planned meeting between President Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad in the Russian capital, Moscow.
Çetin claimed in his tweet that Russian President Vladimir Putin would soon visit Ankara to discuss the arrangements and timing of this meeting, without providing further details.