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Turkey's Erdogan seeking a meeting with Assad and Putin

In a reversal, Erdogan wants Russia to set-up a three-way meeting with Bashar Al-Assad, ten years after Ankara calling for his removal from power
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 16, 2022. (Photo by ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that his country was seeking three-way meetings between Ankara, Moscow and Damascus, a fresh addition to Turkey’s efforts to restore its ties with the Syrian government of Bashar Al-Assad, ten years after relations broke off between them. 

“We want to take a tripartite step as Syria-Turkey-Russia,” Erdogan told reporters during his return from Turkmenistan, adding that the three countries' defense and foreign ministers could come together first.

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