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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the United States opposes steps to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria, although it did not say so to its Turkish interlocutors, CNN-Turk Turkish private television reported.

"There have been no questions from the US about why we are meeting with them (Syrians) or what is going on. However, as we understand, they are against such normalization," Cavusoglu said, adding that this was also clear from a statement by a spokesman for the US State Department.

However, in his words, "the United States must see that the policy it has followed for years has not yielded results."

"Ultimately, this civil war must be ended. We say the way to achieve this will not be at the expense of the opposition," he stressed.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, the goals in Syria refer to the establishment of lasting stability, peace, ending terrorism, preserving territorial integrity and border security.  

So far, no exact date has been set for the planned meeting in the second half of January between Turkey and Syria at the level of foreign ministers, the Turkish first diplomat also said.

The meeting in question is expected to take place in Moscow, he said, adding that the Russians had proposed a date for the talks, but it was not convenient for the Turkish side's schedule.

Cavusoglu warned at the same time that meetings in a trilateral format between Ankara, Moscow and Damascus, such as the one that took place last month, are part of a process and will not end with one-off talks.

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"It should not be expected that all decisions regarding Syria will be made at a tripartite meeting. All of these are real steps towards both establishing trust and concretizing cooperation on sensitive issues in the next period," he explained.

The minister also emphasized that both Turkey and other countries should engage with the Syrian regime for the safe return of Syrians.

According to him, this opinion is shared by other countries.

"Security is important, the return of abandoned property, what opportunities will be provided to them when they return. Education is important, children's education is important, health care is important, the implementation of projects to create jobs is important... That is why it is it is important for the international community to engage with the regime. The regime says it wants to cooperate for the return of Syrians," Çavuşoğlu also said.

The minister announced that on January 17 he will visit the USA, where he will have many meetings, including with his colleague Anthony Blinken, notes BTA.

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Mevlut Cavusoglu