The meeting of the heads of the Ministry of Defense of Turkey and Syria may take place in mid-February.

The next meeting of the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers may take place in mid-February, the Yeni Akit newspaper reported, citing Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

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“Ibrahim Kalyn said that a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries is on the agenda in mid-February,” the newspaper writes.

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Referring to “the terrorist organization PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, banned in Turkey),” Kalın said, “We want security on our borders. We will never attack the Syrian state or Syrian civilians.”

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In December, Russia hosted the first talks between the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers in 11 years. In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. Turkey, which before this conflict maintained close relations with Damascus, took the side of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, Turkey’s relations with Syria have remained difficult. However, in recent weeks, both sides, as well as some media outlets, have been talking about the possibility of a gradual normalization.