Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed openness to restoring diplomatic relations with Syria following comments made by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking to reporters after performing Friday prayers at Hz. Ali Mosque in Istanbul's Üsküdar district, President Erdoğan addressed questions regarding Assad's recent statements about Türkiye-Syria relations.

"There is no reason not to revive the diplomatic relations between the two countries," President Erdoğan stated, emphasizing that Türkiye is prepared to collaborate with Syria to improve bilateral ties as they have done in the past. He highlighted that Türkiye has no intention of interfering in Syria's domestic affairs and views the Syrian people as a brotherly community.

"Türkiye doesn’t have any intention to interfere with Syria’s domestic affairs. The Syrian people are a community with whom we live together as brotherly peoples. We had robust relations in the past to the extent of coming together as families; you know we had these talks with Mr. Assad. It is absolutely impossible to say it won’t happen again tomorrow; it happens again. We never intend to interfere with Syria’s domestic affairs," Erdoğan state said.

Erdoğan's remarks suggest a potential thaw in relations between Ankara and Damascus, which have been strained since the onset of the Syrian civil war. The Turkish President's comments signal a possible shift towards reestablishing diplomatic communication and cooperation between the neighboring countries. (ILKHA)