Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad said Sunday the withdrawal of Turkish forces from its territory was not a pre-requisite to a rapprochement between the estranged neighbours. “It’s not correct what was announced by some Turkish officials recently, that Syria said if there is no withdrawal, it will not meet with the Turks,” Assad told parliament on Sunday. “This talk is far from reality,” he added. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supported early rebel efforts to topple Assad after civil war broke out in the country in 2011, but reversed course in recent years. Since 2022, top Syrian and Tu…