File image.
On December 15, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara wants to normalize ties with the Syrian government through a plan that would include Russia.
“As of now, we want to take a trilateral step as Syria, Turkey and Russia. For this, our intelligence organizations should first meet, then our defense and foreign ministers. After their meetings, we can come together as leaders. I offered this option to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He also viewed it positively,” Erdogan told journalists returning from Turkmenistan.
Ankara broke ties with Damascus in the very first year of the Syrian war. Today, it is the main backer of Syrian rebels and its military occupies vast parts of the country’s northern region.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey would not seek permission from the United States or any other country to hold talks with the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.
“The decisive factor in steps to be taken regarding Syria will be our national interests,” the Turkish president said.
The president went on to warn that Turkey won’t tolerate the presence of Kurdish forces in northern Syria along the Turkish border.
Erdogan said that the Turkish military will continue to target the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the core faction of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the alleged Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), within the 30 kilometers zone south of its border that was declared a buffer area in two separate deals with Russia.
“We have decisions from the Sochi deal and Astana,” Erdogan said.
Turkey launched an air operation against Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, codenamed Operation Claw-Sword, on November 20 in response to the November 13 Istanbul bombing. Ankara blamed the terrorist attack, which killed six and wounded more than 80 others, on the PKK and the YPG.
So far, most of the Turkish strikes have targeted positions and personnel of the SDF in northern Syria. Erdogan has already warned of a near ground offensive.
“Our coordination with Russia in Syria is not new,” Erdogan said, adding that a potential ground operation into northern Syria was discussed between the two countries.
In a recent televised discussion, Erdogan expressed his willingness to meet with Assad and noted that “there can be no resentment in politics.” Nevertheless, it was reported later that Damascus had rejected a proposal by Ankara to hold such a meeting.
Damascus believes that a meeting with Assad could boost Erdogan’s chances in the 2023 Turkish general elections, especially if its addresses the issue of returning some of the 3,6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.
Despite Erdogan’s enthusiasm for a Turkish-Syrian rapprochement, Damascus will not likely make any serious move in this direction before the upcoming Turkish elections. Only after the elections, the plan layout by Erdogan may move forward.
