ByNews Desk- The Cradle
At the end of last month, Russian media reported that the long-awaited foreign ministers' meeting between Turkiye and Syria is back on the agenda
“In general, the idea is that it’s high time for normalizing relations between Syria and Turkiye … both sides are very careful in terms of what they are doing,” the Russian ambassador said in response to a question by Kurdish outlet Rudaw.
“Priority number one for us is Syria … we support Syria as a country, not militarily only but economically as well … because Syria is our ally,” he added.
On 28 December last year, the defense ministers of Turkiye, Syria, and Russia held a meeting in Moscow, marking the first meeting between representatives of Damascus and Ankara since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. This also marked the launching of a Russian-sponsored normalization path between Turkiye and Syria and the planning of an eventual meeting between the foreign ministers of Moscow, Damascus, and Ankara – which has yet to materialize.
However, on 26 February, Russian news outlet TASS reported that work is underway to determine a set time for a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkiye, and Iran, suggesting that a resumption of the normalization path is back on the agenda.
In 2011, Ankara opened its border with Syria and facilitated the illegal entry of militants into the country. Through its active support for the armed opposition, Turkiye was one of the principal instigators of the conflict in Syria, alongside Doha, Washington, and others.
Five years later, the Turkish military invaded Syria under the pretext of combatting Kurdish militants. By 2017, Ankara had established a permanent military presence in northern Syria through its army and its proxy militant coalition, the Syrian National Army (SNA).
The Syrian state has repeatedly affirmed that any official launching of the reconciliation talks must depend on a clear Turkish roadmap for the complete withdrawal of its military from Syria. Although vaguely announcing an intention to withdraw, Turkish officials have made contradictory statements about the matter, leaving the situation somewhat murky.
Since then, the devastating 6 February earthquake, which left over 50,000 people dead in Turkiye and Syria, has put reconciliation efforts to a halt.
Meanwhile, the militant presence in Syria’s north remains a problem for Ankara, and it has continued to target Kurdish positions there, even after the earthquake.
Regarding Turkiye’s long-promised ground offensive against the Kurds in Syria, the Russian ambassador told Rudaw: “Damascus will protect [the Kurds] from any hostilities,” even if an agreement was reached between Ankara and the Syrian government.
He added that he “was not aware of the Kurds being involved in the talks.”
While the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are not involved in Turkiye-Syria talks, they have engaged in separate negotiations recently with both Russian and Syrian officials, and a separate agreement between them is not out of the question, according to SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, who also has expressed confidence that Moscow and Damascus will protect the Kurds in the event of a Turkish ground offensive.
“The Russians and the Syrian regime will object to the launching of a Turkish operation,” Abdi said in late January.
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