Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that his country is ready for joint action with the Syrian regime to combat terrorism, the political process and the return of Syrians to their country.
Cavusoglu said in a speech he delivered on Monday during his participation in the discussion of the Turkish Foreign Ministry's budget at the Parliament's General Assembly in Ankara that the Turkish and Syrian intelligence services have been continuing their contacts for some time.
"If the (Syrian) regime acts realistically, we are ready to work together to combat terrorism, the political process and the return of the Syrians," he added.
Last August, the Turkish minister indicated the possibility of reconciliation between Ankara and the Syrian regime, and his statements sparked protests in northern Syria, but the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement at the time explaining the content of those statements.
Late last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that relations with Syria "could be restored in the next stage, as happened with Egypt, as there is no permanent rivalry in politics."
In his statements to the Turkish parliament, the Turkish foreign minister stressed that his country would not allow the continued presence of the PKK and the Kurdish protection units in Iraq and Syria, and that it would do what was necessary to uproot the two organizations it classified as terrorists from these two countries.
He explained that Turkey continues its efforts to eliminate terrorism at the military and diplomatic levels.
With regard to the war in Ukraine, the Turkish Foreign Minister stated that his country played an active role in holding meetings between Russian and Ukrainian officials, and in concluding an agreement to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.