Syrian newspaper denies news about Syrian-Turkish meeting in Moscow
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Al-Baʻath newspaper, a newspaper published by the Baʻath Party in Syria, said on Saturday that there was no truth to the allegations about a Syrian-Turkish meeting in Moscow.
The newspaper cited informed sources as saying, yesterday, “Everything circulating on some websites and social media pages about Moscow hosting a Turkish-Syrian security meeting headed by Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk and Hakan Fidan is misinformation and not true.”
Arab media websites said that an “intelligence meeting” dealing only with security and intelligence issues was held between the Syrian government and Turkey in the Russian capital, Moscow.
On April 6, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denied what was being circulated about the restoration of relations between Damascus and Ankara.
The news reported by Hürriyet newspaper about a Syrian-Turkish meeting “is no more than a scandalous media propaganda as Turkey’s presidential elections approaches,” the pro-government al-Watan newspaper cited figures in Syria’s Foreign Ministry as saying.
“Any dialogue with Turkey depends on pulling back all of its forces illegally present on the Syrian territory, as well as ending its support for terrorists and its repeated violations against Syrians,” according to al-Watan.