Iraq to host talks aimed at normalizing Ankara-Damascus ties

Iraq said on Saturday it is planning to host talks between Türkiye and Syria to help normalize ties between its two neighbours after a rupture of more than a decade.

Relations have soured between Ankara and Damascus after a civil war erupted in Syria in 2011.

On Saturday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said his country has launched an initiative to mediate between Türkiye and Syria, the official Iraqi news agency INA quoted him as saying in the United States.

Hussein added that he had conferred with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Washington to arrange for a meeting in the Iraqi capital Baghdad with Syrian officials. "There are also continued contacts with the Syrian side," he added.

The date of the talks will be set later, he said.

In a sign of rapprochement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently said his country could extend an invitation to al-Assad "at any moment" to discuss restoration of ties.

"We want peace in Syria and we expect everyone who supports peace to support this historic call," Erdoğan said on his return flight from the US where he attended a NATO summit.

He did not mention Iraq or any other country for a possible meeting with al-Assad.

A rapprochement between Türkiye and Syria, considered unthinkable until relatively recently, has been on the horizon, with al-Assad returning to the international stage after a decade of isolation.

Erdoğan said on his way back from the NATO summit in Washington on Friday that he hopes that concrete steps can be taken soon, according to his office.

The Turkish president has tasked his foreign minister with making progress on the Syrian relationship, while he has also proposed inviting al-Assad to Türkiye.

For Syria, which was recently readmitted to the Arab League, a resumption of relations with Türkiye would represent a further signal of the country's return to the international diplomatic scene.