Turkish and Syrian intelligence services are preparing for the meeting between Erdogan and Assad

Representatives of the Turkish and Syrian secret services have held three talks over the past month to normalize bilateral relations and organize the first meeting of Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar Assad since 2011, the "Turkey" newspaper reports, citing a source.

Initially, Iraq was discussed as the meeting place between Erdogan and Assad, but Ankara prefers to hold the meeting at the Kasab/Yayla checkpoint on the Turkey-Syria border.

"The process is developing rapidly, both leads will be photographed together in August at the latest," the report said.