NNA - After meeting and shaking hands with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, in Qatar, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may shake hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for high-level diplomatic talks before the 2023 elections, reports two journalists from the daily Hürriyet.

A possible meeting with Assad has come to the fore following Erdoğan’s meeting with el-Sisi in Qatar, where he was for the world cup ceremonies.

Assessing the possibility of a handshake with Assad, whom Erdoğan has not met for years, Hande Fırat stated that comprehensive diplomatic talks should be held before a meeting with the Syrian leader.

Stating that the process starts with diplomatic negotiations between the intelligence organizations of the two countries, Fırat noted that the issues on the table in the intelligence negotiations should reach a certain resolution stage.

Foreign ministers should involve in the process as the intelligence sides make progress in their diplomatic conversations, according to Fırat.

With the success of the solution-oriented talks at the level of foreign ministers and the coming of the agreements to the agenda, the necessary atmosphere for the meeting of the leaders will also be provided, Fırat noted.--Hurriyet Daily News 

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