The Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yidirum, stated on Saturday that Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, can remain as the interim leader of Syria, while the country moves towards a transitional government.

Yidirum added that Assad cannot remain president of Syria after the transitional government is set in place.

#BREAKING Turkish PM: Syria's Assad can be taken as a counterpart in interim but cannot remain in future of #Syria — CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) August 20, 2016

This shift in Turkish policy comes just two weeks after Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg.

Previously, Turkey demanded Assad step down from the presidency immediately and even threatened military action against his government if he did not comply.

Next week, Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Tehran, where he will meet with the Iranian and Russian leaders in order to increase coordination efforts.