ERDOGAN: WE WILL DIRECT OUR INVITATION TO ASSAD, AND IT MAY BE AT ANY MOMENT, IN THE HOPE THAT RELATIONS WILL RETURN TO WHAT THEY WERE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will extend an invitation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and it may be at any moment, expressing his hope that Turkish-Syrian relations will return to what they were in the past. He told reporters on the plane during his return flight from Berlin to Istanbul, "Russian President Vladimir Putin has an approach regarding our meeting (with Assad) in Turkey, and the Iraqi Prime Minister has an approach. We are talking here about mediation, so why not with our neighbor." He added: 'We have now reached a stage where as soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step to improve relations with Turkey, we will respond appropriately: Source: National news agency - Lebanon