Turkey does not have preconditions for dialogue with Syria - Foreign minister

Turkey does not have preconditions for dialogue with the Syrian government and talks with Damascus should be goal-oriented, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

His comments reflected a recent softening of Ankara's public stance towards the government of Bashar al-Assad, after more than a decade of conflict during which Turkey has backed rebels seeking to overthrow the Syrian president.