Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a forum in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. (AP Photo)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that his country is ready to mediate talks between Damascus and Ankara to help them restore their relations.
“We believe that the relations between Ankara and Damascus are in the interest of the region. If both sides ask us to help, we will play the role of the mediator,” Zarif said during an interview with RT on February 6.
Zarif also stressed that only the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is capable of securing the Syrian-Turkish border. The minister went on to say that “an occupation can’t be replaced with another occupation,” in a direct hint to Turkey’s plans to invade northeastern Syria following the upcoming withdrawal of U.S. forces.
“Only Syrian can provide security in those areas, Iran and Russia are ready to help Syria and Turkey reach a solution,” Zarif added.
The idea of Syria and Turkey cooperating to secure their joint border was first revived by Russia’ President Vladimir Putin, who called on the restoration of the 1998 Adana agreement between the two countries last month.
Turkey’s President Recap Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Putin’s idea. However, he openly said that the agreement could justify a Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria. Later, the Turkish leader backed down and began to hint at possible security coordination with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
“We are conducting a low-level foreign relation with Syria. Intelligence agencies cannot behave like leaders. Leaders can decide to exclude themselves but can also use intelligence agencies to maintain relations for their own interests … We cannot cut the tie even if it is the enemy. We may need that tie later on,” Erdogan said on February 4, according to Middle East Eye.
The Presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran will hold a new meeting on Syria on February 14. The Adana agreement and the proposition to restore Syrian-Turkish relations may be discussed during the summit.
Iran and Russia should go home than turkey can go home too.
I don’t Iran why they are always benefiting behind us departure even in Iraq now irians control every shit in Bagdad and I don’t about russia but turkey will let syria for Iran alone and they fucking know that.
Will Iran also betray Syria in Idlib ?
Turkey must be partitioned. Let the Kurds make their own country. Greece will get Izmir, Trapisond, Constantinople and other Greek areas. Armenians get their land back. Bulgaria and Russia get their pieces. Erdogan and his funny looking woman get long jail terms in the West. A little Turkey emerges.
There are no Greek areas in Turkey anymore, just like there are no German areas anymore in the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Those populations have been ethnically cleansed long ago. And in the case of Turkey almost a hundred years ago in the aftermath of the Greco Turkish war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%931922)
Only Turks live there now, and to replace them again with Greeks would also be ethnically cleansing. And thus bad. The little Turkey idea has been tried in the past and the Turks did not take kindly to outsiders doing this to them. And why shouldn’t they? Would you take kindly to outsiders carving up your country?
BREAD AND BUTTER TIME, now we get to business, this is what it all depends on, the biggest issue of all.
The media should be headlining this story like no other, but they won’t, but this is what it’s all about, but all we get is “TEHRAN IS READY TO MEDIATE TALKS BETWEEN DAMASCUS & ANKARA”, WTF :[
Mediate, what a word to use, broker or facilitate would be much more apt terms to use.
The Israelis won’t be happy until Iran pulls out of Syria and gets the US and Russia to guarantee regional security concerns they have with Iran.
But Iran won’t pull out of Syria until the Turks do, even US troops remaining for a brief period won’t be an obstacle to Iran pulling out now, but the Turks still are, and to all the Arab League members too [except Qatar], who are all in agreement with Iran over the issue and also want the Turks out of Syria, no if’s or butts and no Adana agreement being used to justify them being there, no matter what Putin or Erdogan say or want.
Iran wants US sanctions lifted so they can start making money again, pulling their troops out of Syria and making assurances to Israel concerning security issues will achieve that, perhaps even a new non nuclear escalation agreement will be included in any deal to lift US sanctions.
The only hold up to advancing this agenda that would make all parties happy is Erdogan. With his troops in Syria and threatening to take over even more territory, no peace settlement can be achieved.
Israel and the US are the ones Erdogan will want something from in exchange for pulling out his troops, he already gets everything he wants out of Putin, so he can’t have much left to offer Erdogan as an enticement, at least nothing that would also keep the Arab League happy as well. I actually think it will be Putin who will be mediating the talks, and the talks will be between Turkey and Iran, not Turkey and Syria as claimed, the real issues concerning a mutual pullout are about to be discussed and worked out, and if and when an agreement can be reached, Erdogan will make his demands known to the US and Israel, and if they can then also come to some sort of mutually beneficial arrangement, the Syrian civil war will come to an end.
But Erdogan will want too much and won’t compromise, he never does, he does the same thing to everyone every single time, and he doesn’t have an ounce of diplomacy in his whole body, he’ll stuff things up like he always does, and then the talks will come to nothing as they usually do.
Erdogan has to go, it’s that simple, assassination or a forced departure from politics are becoming more and more likely the only solution now. All I wonder now is, will it be the US, Israel, the US, the EU, or the Arab League who get in first, that’s becoming the question I ask myself lately. If they can’t they’ll have to let Erdogan invade Syria and get rid of him that way, a failed war in Syria will get him out of office or lynched by a mob, letting him in and then smashing him to high heaven after he does would do the trick, but cost lots of innocent lives in the process, assassination is really the best option.