Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced today that he had tasked his Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan with meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad to begin restoring relations with Damascus. But why did the Turkish president choose his foreign minister? And why now specifically? This announcement followed Erdogan's recent comments suggesting that Assad could be invited to Turkey "at any moment," before the spokesperson for his ruling Justice and Development Party stated that the timing and location for the meeting with the Syrian president are still unknown.
Erdogan's choice of Fidan to meet with Assad draws attention, particularly as Turkey seeks to normalize relations with Syria after a rupture lasting nearly 12 years due to Turkey's support for the Syrian opposition, prior to Ankara's military intervention in the Syrian crisis, which resulted in Turkey controlling cities in northwestern and eastern Syria.
Regarding Erdogan's proposal for his foreign minister to meet Assad, a Turkish academic noted several reasons for this choice, including that Hakan previously headed Turkish intelligence and "has significant negotiation experience," which positions him well to initiate talks with Assad before meeting with his Turkish counterpart.
Turkish political analyst Haydar Chakmak stated, "Assad does not want to meet with Erdogan, but Russian President Vladimir Putin insists on it. The Syrian president wants Turkey to withdraw from Syrian territory as a condition for talks, while Erdogan can no longer bear the burden of Syrian refugees." He added that "Turkey's economy has deteriorated significantly; the costs of refugees are excessively high, and public opinion is very upset with the Syrian issue. Erdogan wants to eliminate this problem, especially as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) gain strength in Syria, necessitating cooperation with the Assad regime."
Chakmak continued: "Foreign ministers will discuss these issues in advance and resolve some of them, then the presidents will address the remaining issues during their meeting." A Turkish newspaper close to the ruling party revealed last Tuesday that the Turkish-Syrian talks prior to a potential Erdogan-Assad meeting will occur at the level of the two countries' foreign ministers after meetings with other Turkish and Syrian officials.
The newspaper "Yeni Şafak" reported that a series of meetings regarding the anticipated encounter between the two presidents will take place in the coming period under Russian sponsorship. Erdogan had renewed his invitation to the Syrian president upon returning from Germany last weekend after watching the Turkey-Netherlands match in the European Football Championship, saying: "We may invite Assad at any time."
Erdogan explained to journalists that a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey could open a new chapter in Turkish-Syrian relations. Conversely, Syrian President Bashar Assad confirmed after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy Alexander Lavrentiev last Wednesday that Syria is open to all initiatives related to its relationship with Turkey, based on Syrian state sovereignty and the demands Damascus has placed on Ankara.
Assad clarified that the goal is to succeed in returning relations between Syria and Turkey, emphasizing the necessity of combating all forms and organizations of terrorism.
