Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan of backing extremism as he met Tuesday with visiting Turkish opposition figures. "Erdogan leads with a destructive policy that does not serve at all the interest of his people, by supporting takfiri (extremist Sunni) forces," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying. The delegation included figures from various Turkish opposition parties and was led by Dogu Perincek, head of the ultranationalist Land Party, SANA reported.
Formerly an ally of Damascus, Ankara broke off its relationship with Assad after the uprising's escalation in 2011 from peaceful demonstrations to a bloody civil war. Turkey has since supported the Syrian opposition and currently hosts 1.6 million Syrian refugees. Damascus has accused Ankara of training anti-regime rebels and easing their entry into Syria.
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