Turkey mulls opening a border crossing into Syrian government territory
Turkey is considering re-opening a border crossing into Syrian government territory, a Turkish official said on Friday, according to a report from Reuters.
It would enable earthquake aid to be sent directly to areas under President Bashar al-Assad's control after a decade of hostility between Ankara and Damascus.
The Turkish government is also looking at opening another crossing into Syria's opposition-held Idlib region, the official said.
Turkey and Syria broke off diplomatic ties after Assad responded with extreme violence to 2011 protests calling for greater freedoms and the overthrow of the regime.
In recent months Turkey and Syria have been engaged in several meetings in a bid to improve relations.
Turkish and Syrian defence ministers, along with their Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, met in Moscow in December, elevating contacts that had previously been held on a strictly intelligence level in an attempt to repair bilateral relations.
Last month two sources familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye that Turkey is pushing the Syrian government to send its foreign minister to Ankara for the second high-level meeting between the two countries in 11 years.