DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Security agreements between Turkey and Syria creates an unbreakable strategic partnership in the region, a Syrian leader said.
Damascus welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for bilateral strategic talks.
Both countries approached the brink of war in 1998 over disagreements regarding the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party. In 2002 the countries repaired relations by signing an accord that permitted bilateral military ties and in 2009 both sides formed a bilateral council in an effort to re-establish relations.
The Turkish minister said both countries sought "security, stability and cooperation in all fields of interest," the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.
Davutoglu added that Ankara and Damascus were working at the regional level to bolster economic ties with their Arab neighbors.
Hassan Turkmani, a former Syrian defense minister and current vice president, said bilateral ties were a sign of political power in the region.
"The world now realizes the importance of the Syrian and Turkish role in the region and the agreement among them achieves security and security for both," he was quoted as saying.
