Syria is ready to start a direct dialogue with Turkey to ease tensions between the two countries, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement circulated by local media on Saturday, RIA Novosti reports.
Tensions between Damascus and Ankara escalated in October after an artillery shell allegedly fired by the Syrian army landed in a Turkish border village killing five people. In response, the Turkish parliament authorized the government to launch cross-border military operations as a deterrent against potential attacks from Syria for the period of one year.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested on October 10 that the best way to resolve the conflict would be through direct contacts between Syrian and Turkish authorities.
“Syria welcomes Lavrov’s statement on the need to create a mechanism of direct dialogue on security issues between Syria and Turkey,” the ministry’s statement said.
