Damascus calls on Turkish authorities to discuss water

The Turkish daily "Millit" has quoted Syrian Information Minister Muhammad Salman as saying that "it is a ripe time now to put the issue of water with Turkey on the table."

The Turkish daily viewed "dropping the name of Syria and highlighting the name of Greece in the Turkish dailies concerning current investigations into the leader of the Kurdistani Workers Party, Abdullah Ocalan, indicates a new phase of relations between the two sides."

The paper described this Turkish inclination as "good intention by the Turkish side in an attempt to salvage its relations with Syria."

The Turkish daily continued that Salman extended several messages to Turkey in his statements to its correspondent in Damascus, adding that the main messages were that the Kurdistani Workers Party (PKK) is not present in Syria and the need to take Israel out of Syrian-Turkish relations, adding that the "military cooperation between Ankara and Tel Aviv aims at cordoning Syria."

The paper quoted minister Salman as saying that " Turkey granted a land in the Southern Eastern region to conduct agricultural researches in it, a matter which is considered by Damascus as " a project which in reality implies security objectives." The paper added that the Syrian minister called for developing trade and economic relations and for a meeting between the Syrian and Turkish Foreign ministers, resuming the tripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Syria and Iran in order to preserve the Iraqi territorial integrity. Moreover, diplomatic sources in Damascus said that the Turkish security delegation which held meetings in Damascus in February asked for having back prisoners of the " PKK" in Syria, those who only carry the Turkish nationality; especially as the two countries signed several years ago an agreement to exchange criminals.