ANKARA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his wish to normalize diplomatic relations with Syria, saying that he was still hopeful to take steps with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for this purpose, the state-run TRT broadcaster quoted him as saying on Wednesday.

"I am still hopeful about Assad. I still have the hope that we can come together and set the course right for Syria-Türkiye relations," Erdogan told a group of journalists on his flight from Azerbaijan to Türkiye.

While clarifying reports that he had exited the room to avoid Assad's speech during a joint extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this week, Erdogan explained that he left to attend a scheduled meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, not as a protest.

The Turkish president also emphasized the potential for peace and cooperation with the neighboring country.

"There is a foundation for fair and lasting peace in Syria. We need to eliminate terrorist groups threatening both Syria and Türkiye," he said, referring to the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Türkiye sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

After the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, Türkiye's relations with Syria significantly deteriorated as Ankara supported various opposition factions against the Syrian government.

Since 2015, Türkiye has conducted several military operations in Syria, targeting the YPG.

In July, Erdogan stated that he would invite his Syrian counterpart to work on normalizing relations between the two countries. However, no significant progress has been achieved since then. Enditem

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