Turkey Eyes Maritime Deal with Syria

Turkey is aiming to strike a maritime demarcation agreement with Syria after a permanent government is formed in Damascus, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday.

Turkey, which backed Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad this month after a 13-year civil war, has been in close contact with the new interim administration of its neighbour, including Turkey's intelligence chief and foreign minister meeting with de-facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week said Ankara would improve ties with Syria including in trade, energy and defence.

Turkey is also planning to start negotiations with the new Syrian administration on a possible maritime demarcation agreement, Transport Minister Uraloglu told reporters.

"Of course an authority must first be established there... It will be on our agenda for sure, but it's hard to say that it's on today's agenda," Uraloglu said.

The maritime demarcation agreement would be in line with international law and would allow two countries to determine authorities for oil and hydrocarbon exploration, the minister also said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever. Editing by Ece Toksabay and Mark Potter)