Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad while casting his vote in the country’s parliamentary elections in Damascus on July 15. (The Syrian Presidency Office)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on July 15 that he would only meet his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan if the two countries could focus on the core issues, including Ankara’s support for “terrorism” and the pullout of Turkish forces from Syrian territory.
“The problem is not the meeting, but its content,” a video clip released by the presidency showed Assad telling reporters in Damascus while casting his vote in the country’s parliamentary elections.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the war, in which it supported rebels looking to oust Assad. Ankara’s involvement grew dramatically in the last eight years, as its forces took over large parts of northern and eastern Syria.
Speaking in June to Russia’s Syria envoy, Alexander Lavrentyev, Assad said that “Syria has welcomed” all reconciliation initiatives with Turkey after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said a month earlier that his government was working on reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus. Following the remarks, Erdogan said that he was willing to meet with Assad.
Earlier this month efforts to reconcile Syria and Turkey saw a new breakthrough when the Turkish President instructed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with Assad to start restoring relations between the two countries. Erdogan also said that “Fidan was authorized to organize a meeting with President Assad in a third country.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein later revealed that an agreement had been reached with Syria and Turkey to hold a meeting between officials from the two countries in Baghdad.
Syria still appears to be very cautious about the rapprochement with Turkey, especially that Ankara is yet to provide any guarantees.
“What is the basis for the meeting? Would it be ending the reasons for the problem, which are supporting terrorism and withdrawing from Syrian lands?… This is the core of the problem,” Assad told reporters. “If there were no discussion about the core of (the problem), what would such a meeting mean?”
The Syrian President added that he would respond positively to any initiative aimed at improving bilateral ties but that the basis for such talks must be set first.
The remarks indicate that major obstacles are still in the way of restoring relations between Syria and Turkey. While an agreement may not be near, it appears to be inevitable.
Turkey’s eagerness to coordinate with Damascus on issues like the threat posed by American-backed Kurdish forces in northern and Eastern Syria and the Repatriation of millions of Syrian refugees will likely force it to make some concessions in the end.
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