Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not ready to normalise relations with the opposition in Syria and, by extension, with Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said, warning the regime in Damascus that if it continues refusing to resolve the country’s internal problems, it could face more instability and new dangers.
‘In this atmosphere of de-escalation (between the two countries), Turkey wants the Syrian regime and the opposition to create a political structure on which they can reach an agreement. It is very important for the (Damascus) regime to provide a safe and stable environment for the population, including for the opposition,’ Fidan was quoted as saying by the Turkish daily Hürriyet, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said days ago that Russia was ready to act as a mediator between Turkey and Syria.
For the Turkish foreign minister, however, the Assad government should first initiate a dialogue with opposition groups and reach an agreement with them, before resuming relations with Ankara. ‘But as far as we know, Assad and his allies are not ready to reach an agreement with the opposition, and thus achieve further normalisation (of the situation in Syria),’ said Fidan, who also warned that the increasing attacks carried out by Israel “may lead Syria to further instability, and this is something no one wants”.
Israel’s threat to Syria and Iran
Precisely on the future of Syria, the Turkish foreign minister pointed out that one of the main and most serious problems for the future and stability of the country is that the YPG – considered by Turkey to be the Syrian branch of the PKK – controls a third of Syrian territory, thanks to the support given to the armed group by the United States. ‘In all our talks with our US counterparts, we tell them that they should end their alliance with the YPG,’ he said.
On the dangerous escalation of war in the Middle East, the Turkish foreign minister warned that in his opinion Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be waiting for the results of the US presidential elections to be known in order to extend the conflict to other countries in the region, including Iran, where he would seek among other objectives to end its nuclear programme. ‘Israel’s main objective is to drive Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt, and from the West Bank into Jordan. This is a scenario that would create enormous instability in the region,’ he warned.
Turkey and Syria held direct talks last year under Moscow’s mediation to normalise relations, but the incipient process ended in failure because Assad imposed as a condition for restoring diplomatic ties that Turkey must first withdraw its troops from Syrian territory – an issue Ankara refuses to address on the grounds that the Syrian regime lacks the capacity to prevent armed groups such as the YPG from taking control of these territories, which would pose a threat to Turkey’s security.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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