Withdrawal from Syria ‘illogical’: Turkiye

News Desk - The Cradle 

Ankara’s defense minister said that his country is prepared to resume normalization talks with Damascus, but rejected Syria’s main demands

Turkiye’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler told media on 29 September that Ankara is prepared to resume reconciliation talks with the Syrian government, but rejected Syria’s demand for a withdrawal of Turkish troops from the country. 

Raising the matter of withdrawal is “illogical” at the current time, the defense minister said. 

He added that Ankara is “ready to resume talks with Syria, with the participation of Russia and Iran, as part of the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus.” 

Turkiye is always ready for dialogue, Guler said, but Syria’s demands “are not something that can be accepted immediately.” 

In December last year, Syrian and Turkish defense officials held the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the start of the war. 

In the months that followed, several rounds of Russian and Iranian-sponsored negotiations aimed at reconciliation were held. 

However, the talks were unsuccessful and stalled due to the Syrian condition that Turkish occupation troops stationed in northern Syria completely withdraw. Damascus also demanded that Turkiye cease support for extremist groups such as the Syrian National Army (SNA). 

Ankara has continued to reject Syria’s demands and maintains that its presence in the country aims to deter Kurdish militants on its border, namely the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its ally, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkiye. 

To justify its continued occupation, Ankara has also expressed concerns that the Syrian army is incapable of securing its border with Turkiye. 

On 28 September, the Turkish National Security Council released a statement vowing Ankara’s determination to confront all terrorist groups in Syria, including the YPG and the PKK. 

The statement praised the “legitimate resistance of the Syrian people” against Kurdish militants. 

The SDF is currently facing a large-scale Arab tribal rebellion against its presence in Deir Ezzor, aimed at expelling the Kurdish group from the area. 

As a result of this rebellion, at least 30 members of the Kurdish militia were killed in a span of three days in surprise attacks by tribal forces last week.