JEDDAH: A new Turkish ground offensive in Syria is "possible at any time," a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, despite Moscow's mediation between Damascus and Ankara.

The Kremlin has been trying to end more than a decade of animosity between the neighbors that began when Turkey backed rebel efforts to oust President Bashar Assad at the start of the Syrian civil war.

Since then, Turkey has also launched several offensives in northern Syria, most of them focusing on Kurdish forces it considers "terrorists".

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Erdogan's foreign policy adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, said Turkey was not leaving open the option of launching a new operation, which Ankara has been warning about for months.

According to the seriousness of the threats we receive, Kalin told the press that ground action could happen at any time. Turkey never attacks the Syrian government or civilians in Syria.

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His comments came two days after Assad said the goal of future talks with Ankara should be "the end of the occupation" of some Syria by Turkey. Turkey has military installations in northern Syria, in addition to supporting some local militias opposed to the regime.

Ahead of Turkey's general election, now expected for May, Erdogan, who previously referred to Assad as a "terrorist" in 2017, has become more open to the idea of meeting the Syrian president.

Before a possible summit between the presidents, Kalin said the two sides would hold "a series of meetings".

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US President Joe Biden's administration informed Congress that it is preparing a possible $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a senior US lawmaker who opposed the deal immediately said. objected.

Sen. Bob Menendez, the Democratic leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he strongly opposes the Biden administration's proposed sale of new F-16 planes to Turkey.