Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Sputnik / Alexey Filippov
Moscow welcomes a plan by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that calls for Russian-Turkish-Syrian talks, a senior Russian diplomat said on December 16.
Speaking to journalists a day earlier, Erdogan revealed a plan to normalize Turkey’s ties with the Syrian government with help from Russia. The president voiced his readiness to meet with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, after initial meetings between intelligence officers, then defense and foreign ministers of the two countries.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also special representative of the Russian president for the Middle East and Africa, described Erdogan’s plan as “positively.”
The senior diplomat revealed that Russia has been in talks with Damascus to arrange a meeting between Erdogan and Assad.
“We always welcome bringing relations between sovereign neighbors back to normal and this has been repeatedly mentioned at all levels,” Bogdanov told journalists.
Ankara cut all ties with Damascus after the outbreak of the war in Syria and later became the main backer of the rebels. Today, its military occupies vast parts of the country’s northern region.
Russia has been pushing for a rapprochement between Turkey and Syria for a while now. Earlier this year, senior intelligence officials from the two countries held a series of meetings.
Erdogan expressed his willingness to meet with Assad, whom he worked to overthrow for more than a decade, on several occasions in the last few months. However, according to recent reports, Damascus believes that such a meeting should be only held after the upcoming general elections in Turkey.
Turkey’s needs for a rapprochement with Syria became clear after the November 13 Istanbul bombing. Ankara blamed the terrorist attack, which killed six, on Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria, namely the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The Turkish military launched an air operation, codenamed Claw-Sword, against the PKK and the YPG on November 20. Erdogan wanted to further develop the operation with a ground offensive in northern Syria against a coalition led by the YPG known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. However, the objection of both Russia and the United States, who maintains troops in the region, put his plans to a halt.
A rapprochement with Syria could give Turkey the support it needs to go with full force against Kurdish forces on its border. In addition, it would help Erdogan address the issue of some 3,6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey before the elections. Nevertheless, Damascus does not appear to be too enthusiastic about cooperating with its former ally, Turkey, once again, especially that Ankara seems unwilling to give up on its expansionist ambitions in Syria.
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