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PM says Turkey's Syria policy won't change unless Assad changes

Xinhua, July 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkey's Syria policy will not change unless its leader, Bashar al-Assad, changes, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday.

"Surely things need to change in Syria but first of all, Assad should change," the prime minister said in an interview with BBC, which was also reported in Turkish media outlets.

Yildirim's remarks came one day after he hinted at normalizing relations with Damascus.

In a speech at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party's provincial leaders on Wednesday, the prime minister said, "I'm sure that we will return to normalise relations with Syria."

In the BBC interview, Yildirim stressed that any shift in Turkey's policy toward Syria depends on Assad.

"Unless Assad changes, nothing changes in Turkey," he said.

The prime minister said that even if the Islamic State (IS) was expelled from Syria, the problems in the country would not be solved as Assad would still be in power and another terror organization would come into prominence.

"As long as Assad is there, the problem won't be solved," he said. Endit