Damascus rejected Ankara’s request to arrange a meeting between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, reported Almayadeen.

Although Erdoğan said he was ready to send Turkish officials to Damascus, Assad refused.

Orhan Miroğlu, former MP to the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) suggested that Damascus intends to postpone the meeting until after the 2023 Turkish presidential elections.

Kurdish forces in North and East Syria have had several rounds of dialogue with Damascus but are wary of the potential dangers in a reconciliation between Syrian and Turkish heads of State. The Commander-in -chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, previously warned against a “comprehensive normalisation” between Ankara and Damascus.

He said any such approach would only serve Erdoğan’s interests and open the way for Turkish occupation in parts of Syria.

Amid on-going Turkish attacks on Kurdish groups in northeast Syria, Russia has attempted to mediate between the Turkish and Syrian governments.

“Ankara sees Russia as more understanding than the United States about Turkey’s sensitivities in northern Syria,” Miroğlu said.

For Russia, a deal between Damascus and Ankara would help strengthen its ally Assad and further promote Moscow’s influence with Turkey.

Abdi said that a Moscow-sponsored deal between Damascus and Ankara would “target the will of our people, who have been fighting terrorism for years and bravely defending Syrian territories.”