Turkish and Syrian officials held three rounds of talks last month regarding the normalization of bilateral relations and organizing the first meeting between the two presidents since 2011, according to the newspaper "Turkey." The newspaper confirmed that "initially, Iraq was discussed as a meeting place for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, and now Ankara is considering the option of holding a summit at the Kasab checkpoint in Syria near the Turkish border." The newspaper added: "The process is developing rapidly; the meeting will be held at the latest during August." It is noteworthy that Erdogan stated on July 11 that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has been tasked with organizing a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, which may take place in a third country.