NNA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed his readiness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, indicating that he is awaiting a response from Damascus, according to "Russia Today".

Erdogan told reporters before heading to the United States, where he will participate in the United Nations General Assembly session: “We said that we want to hold a meeting with Bashar al-Assad in order to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria, and now we are waiting for the appropriate response from Damascus.”

He added: "We are ready for this. We want there to be solidarity and unity between our Islamic countries and their peoples, and I hope this will happen thanks to this meeting."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had stated that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had been assigned to organize a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which might be held in a third country.

Erdogan said during a press conference in Washington on July 11: “Two weeks ago, I invited Mr. Assad to hold a meeting in my country or in a third country... and our foreign minister has been assigned to work on this issue.”

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