As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eyes a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, the Turkish defense chief on Friday warned the Syrian armed groups backed by Turkey against “provocations,” in response to the opposition groups' protests against the recent Ankara-Damascus rapprochement.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated that Turkey would not “say yes to any decision or a meeting that would be against or would harm, trouble or violate the rights [of the Syrian opposition]."

“Our Syrian siblings should steer away from any kind of provocations and not fall for games,” he said speaking in Turkey’s northern province of Tokat. 

Akar’s remarks came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “As Russia-Turkey-Syria, we have launched a process through the meeting of our intelligence chiefs and defense ministers in Moscow,” Erdogan said on Thursday during a speech in Ankara, in reference to the milestone talks held in Moscow last week. “Then, God willing, we will bring our foreign ministers together trilaterally. Then, depending on the developments, we will come together as leaders.”