Turkiye’s foreign minister hosts Syrian opposition coalition leader in Ankara

Middle East, News January 4, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with the President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition Salem al Meslet and other Syrian opposition officials in Ankara, Turkiye on January 3, 2023.

Head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission Badr Jamous and President of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly Abdulrahman Mustafa were also present during the meeting.

The meeting took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara where the two sides reiterated their support for each other. Cavusoglu tweeted that the meeting was aimed to address the recent development regarding Syria.

The Turkish foreign minister said that during the meeting with Syrian officials, he reiterated Turkiye’s support “for the Syrian Opposition & the Syrian people in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.”

The decade-long conflict between Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and the Turkish administration seems to be coming to an end after Russia’s long-standing effort to open a channel of dialogue between Turkish leadership and Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month to discuss the possibility of opening a communication channel with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

^{Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed developments regarding Syria with the country’s opposition leaders in Ankara, Turkiye on January 3, 2022. (Image Credit: Twitter/@MevlutCavusoglu)}

President Erdogan proposed forming a trilateral mechanism with Russia and Syria to accelerate diplomacy between Ankara and Damascus. The Turkish leader also expressed his willingness to meet Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

As a result of this breakthrough, a trilateral meeting between defense chiefs of Russia, Syria, and Turkiye took place in Moscow on December 29, 2022, to discuss the issues related to the decade-long Syrian war. Syrian defense minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk met with the Turkish defense ministry, Turkiye’s defense minister Hulusi Akar and the head of its National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan. The meeting was mediated by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The trilateral meeting was the first interaction between the officials from the two sides after Turkey showed a willingness to end the conflict.

Turkey’s backing has been vital to sustaining Syrian rebels in their last major territorial foothold in the northwest after President al-Assad’s forces defeated the fighters across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.

*^{Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar arrives in Russia to hold talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmud Abbas. (Image Credit: Anadolu Agency)}*

Under the 2019 deal, Russia promised to establish a buffer zone between the Turkish border and Syria’s People’s Defense Unit or YPG forces. The buffer zone would be controlled by the Syrian army and Russian military police. Although both Russian and Syrian government forces are present in the border region, they have failed to implement the agreement.

Russia has closely cooperated with Turkey in northern Syria in the past and in recent months has pushed for reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus. In recent weeks, Turkey has threatened to follow up strikes on northern Syria with a ground offensive. Turkey, in return, has acted as a mediator with the United Nations on an agreement that guarantees grain exports from both war-hit Ukraine and Russia, two of the world’s biggest producers.