Turkey says has maintained ties with Syria despite rift with Assad

PanARMENIAN.Net - In an interview with state-owned TRT World News on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his regime has maintained contact with the Syrian government despite his rift with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Al-Masdar News reports.

“Foreign policy with Syria continues at a lower level,” he told broadcaster TRT in an interview, adding that intelligence services operated differently to political leaders.

“Leaders may be cut out. But intelligence units can communicate for their interests,” Erdogan said. “Even if you have an enemy, you should not break the ties. You may need that later.”

The ‘ties’ with Syria that Erdogan is probably alluding to is the intelligence exchange between the two nations.

Erdogan has often criticized Assad in past interviews, accusing him of killing one million people inside Syria.

In turn, Assad has called Erdogan a Muslim Brotherhood member and a sponsor of terrorism inside the region.