The statements of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regarding a potential meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to meet Assad after a nearly 12-year estrangement between Syria and Turkey, have generated significant debate. Notably, Assad mentioned yesterday during his participation in the People's Council elections that he does not know what the Turkish president aims to achieve by meeting him. Does this mean the meeting will be delayed?
In this regard, a political analyst and expert on Turkish affairs pointed out that "Assad's statements show that the normalization proposal that Erdoğan is talking about does not actually exist, as it does not seem that the shuttle diplomacy between the Syrian and Turkish sides has produced anything concrete." Political analyst Ghassan Ibrahim stated to "Al Arabiya Net" and "Al Hadath Net" that "the Turkish side is trying to bypass protocol meetings to achieve some gains, such as legitimizing its military presence in Syria, while Assad is demanding the Turkish side withdraw, indicating a significant disagreement on this matter between the two sides."
He noted that "there is another dispute, added to this issue, which is the conflict between Russia and Iran regarding Turkey's engagement with Assad." He continued that "the Russian side wants to push the Turkish side to engage with Assad without any quick guarantees or concessions, while the Iranian side does not want the Turkish military presence in northern Syria and, therefore, wants guarantees for Ankara's withdrawal in the event of normalization between Syria and Turkey. Thus, the influence within Syrian territory would become Russian-Iranian without the Turkish presence."
He added that "there is an international regional conflict regarding Turkish-Syrian normalization, meaning that the room for maneuver that Erdoğan spoke of regarding the meeting with Assad is very narrow, and he can jump and expedite without providing guarantees."
During his voting in the People's Council elections yesterday, the Syrian president noted that "if the meeting with Erdoğan serves Syria's interests, I will carry it out." He continued: "Turkey must withdraw from our territories and stop supporting armed groups." He also clarified that "Turkey is a neighboring country, and our relations with it should be normal," emphasizing that "removing the causes of disputes will restore normal relations with Turkey."
Last week, Erdoğan announced that he might invite his Syrian counterpart to Turkey "at any time," without providing further details. Meanwhile, a Turkish official confirmed last Tuesday that the date for the meeting between the two presidents is "not specified." The Turkish president reiterated his invitation to Assad upon his return from Germany, where he watched the Turkey-Netherlands match as part of the UEFA European Championship, stating: "We may issue an invitation to Assad at any time." Erdoğan explained to journalists that a potential visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey might open a new chapter in Turkish-Syrian relations.
It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Ankara provided significant support to the political and military opposition. Additionally, since 2016, it has launched three major military operations in Syria, primarily targeting Kurdish fighters, and has managed, in cooperation with allied Syrian factions, to seize a large border area in northern Syria, which Damascus demands Turkey withdraw from as a condition for starting negotiations to restore relations between the two sides.
