Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he will only meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if Turkey withdraws troops from northern Syria, according to a Russian media interview published on Thursday.
His comments come one day after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is seeking to repair ties between Erdogan and Assad severed after the Syrian war broke out in 2011.
The Syrian leader, who arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, demanded that alongside a withdrawal Turkey end "support for terrorism", a reference to rebel groups that control regions of northern Syria and oppose Damascus."What significance would any kind of meeting have -- and why organise it -- if it doesn't lead to a conclusion of the war in Syria?" he added.
"A meeting like that has to be preceded by a whole range of preparatory contacts, which are now underway," Peskov said.
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