Erdoğan calls on 'Mr.' Assad to start new process by 'overcoming resentment'

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 12 that he has instructed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to start to restore relations with Syria.

“I have already called on Mr. Assad for a visit to Turkey or a meeting in a third country and I have instructed my foreign minister on this matter,” Erdoğan said at a news conference at the NATO summit.

“We want to start a new process by overcoming this resentment,” the Turkish president noted. Erdoğan has recently strengthened his normalization rhetoric with Syria after years of nearly no diplomatic relationship and attacking personally Assad.

Erdoğan's linguistic shift to call Assad "Mr." also attracted attention, as in the past he often addressed him using derogatory terms, including "murderer."

'Turkey will not approve NATO attempts to cooperate with Israel'

Erdoğan also said on July 12 it is not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.

"Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey," Erdoğan noted.

Turkey also continues its diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he said.

However, he underscored, "I have shared my views openly here that NATO must never be allowed to become a party to the war in Ukraine."

Regarding F-16 sales to Turkey, Erdoğan said: "I talked to Mr. Biden. 'I will solve this problem in 3-4 weeks' he said.'"

In March, the U.S. Senate defeated an effort to stop a $23 billion sale of F-16 jets and modernization kits to Turkey allowed by President Joe Biden's administration after Turkey approved Sweden joining the NATO alliance.

He also said Turkey expects solidarity from NATO allies in its fight against terrorism.

"It is not possible for us to accept the crooked relationship that some of our allies have established especially with the PYD/YPG, the extension of the terrorist organization PKK in Syria," he said.

Turkey says the YPG militia is a terrorist organization, closely tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group. Turkey's Western allies list the PKK as terrorist group, but not the YPG.

Turkey's goal is to become a permanent member, not just an observer, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Erdoğan also said.

The SCO is a security, political and economic club launched in 2001 by Russia and China and Central Asian states as a counterweight to Western alliances.