No plan for Erdogan to meet Assad in Moscow, Turkish source says

MOSCOW (Reuters) -A newspaper report that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow next month is incorrect, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Turkey's Daily Sabah newspaper cited an unidentified source as saying that such a meeting could take place in August in Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a mediator.

The diplomatic source, speaking to a group of journalists on Monday after the report appeared, said there was no plan for an Erdogan-Assad meeting in August in Moscow.

Turkey has long been one of the main backers of Assad's opponents in the Syrian civil war which began in 2011, while Russia is one of Assad's main battlefield allies, having helped him restore control over most of Syria.

Assad's government has restored diplomatic relations with some Arab states that were severed during the war, but Damascus remains at odds with Ankara, which still protects some anti-Assad rebels in Syria's northwest.

Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad "any time" for possible talks to restore relations, and Putin could help facilitate the contact. Assad said he would meet Erdogan only if they could focus on core issues including a pullout of Turkish forces from Syrian territory.

Asked about the report of a potential meeting in Moscow between Assad and Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not confirm any specific plans but said Russia would like to see improved relations between the two countries.

"The issue of facilitating the organisation of certain contacts between Turkish and Syrian representatives at various levels is really on the agenda.

"Many countries, and of course Russia as a country that plays a significant role in the region, are interested in helping the two countries to establish relations. This is very important for the whole region."

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Additional reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn, Peter Graff)