Media reported Erdogan's intention to meet with the Syrian president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to meet with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly session to "normalize relations" between the countries, officially severed in 2011 after the Syrian conflict began. Le Figaro newspaper reported this on Saturday, September 21.

"We requested a meeting with Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria. Now we are waiting for the response of the opposite side," the head of state told reporters.

The newspaper specifies that the Turkish president has been seeking rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad for several months. Erdogan had previously invited the Syrian president to Turkey to no avail.

The Turkish head also told reporters that he plans to bring the ongoing conflict in Gaza to the center of the UN General Assembly discussion.

"I am going to discuss measures that can be taken against the genocide in the Gaza Strip and Israel's aggressive policies," Erdogan said.

Furthermore, he added that Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon have heightened Turkey's concerns about the possibility of expanding the conflict.

Earlier, on June 28, Erdogan said that Turkey is open to initiatives to normalize relations with Syria, there are no reasons for the non-establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries.

Turkish authorities consider the PKK and its offshoots as the main threats to the country's security. The conflict has been going on since 1984. Turkish armed forces are conducting operations against Kurdish militants on the borders with Iraq and Syria. Russia acts as a mediator willing to resolve the confrontation.