Turkey and Syria say they are ready to restore diplomatic ties

Ankara has supported anti-government rebel groups throughout the Syrian civil war

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that Turkey would agree to restoring diplomatic relations with Syria. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has echoed the words of his Syrian counterpart by expressing a willingness to restore diplomatic ties with Damascus, a move that could bring the war in Syria to an end.

Mr Erdogan said there was "no reason" left preventing the restoration of relations with Syria – which deteriorated over Turkey's support for rebel groups seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Al Assad when civil war broke out in 2011.

Prior to the war, the two leaders had a close relationship.

“Just as we were together in the past in developing relations with Syria, we will act together in the same way,” Mr Erdogan said on Friday.

Mr Assad on Wednesday said he was open to efforts aimed at repairing relations with Turkey. He made the remarks during a meeting Russia's special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev.

Russia and Iran have tried to mediate previous talks between the Turkish government and Damascus. Moscow and Tehran have been the main backers of the Assad government during Syria's civil war, which has killed more than 500,000 and displaced about 12 million since 2011.

However, attempts at reconciliation between Syria and Turkey have not yielded any results as yet.

In May last year, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria met in Moscow for the first time since the start off the war but the roadmap set out to improve relations failed to bring progress.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said any dialogue between his country and Turkey should only take place after Ankara announces a plan to withdraw its troops from all Syrian territory.

Turkey has supported anti-government factions in Syria – some of which are linked to extremist groups.

Ankara has also launched three major cross-border operations into Syria since 2016, seizing control of areas in the north of the country.

Its main objective has shifted to the Kurdish forces – which it perceives as as a security threat – and has sought to push them away from the Turkish-Syrian border.