Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is apparently striving to normalize relations with Syria, while Damascus is a thorn in the side of Turkish troop presence in opposition-held northwest Syria.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoganannounced the end of Turkish military operation in northern Iraq and Syria against the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“We are determined not to allow any structure on the Iraq-Syria border that poses a threat to our country,” Erdogan reiterated during his speech at the graduation ceremony on the campus of the National Defense University, adding: “The separatist organization (PKK) can no longer act within our borders“.
Turkish-Syrian rapprochement
Last week, Erdogan said he hoped to soon be able to arrange a meeting with Syrian President Assad. It would be the first meeting between the two since relations between both countries broke in 2011.
Türkiye supported Syrian insurgents seeking to overthrow Assad still maintains a troop presence in northwestern Syriacontrolled by the opposition, a sensitive point for Damascus.
Russia, which is one of Assad’s strongest supporters but which also maintains close ties with Türkiyeis pushing for the resumption of diplomatic relations.
This time, Irakwhich borders Türkiye and Syria, has also offered mediation.
No interest in Kurdish autonomy
Aron Lund, a member of the Century International think tank, said Iraq could have taken the initiative to deflect pressure from Turkey to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK is a Kurdish separatist group that has led an uprising against Türkiye since the 1980s. y has bases in northern Iraq.
By pushing for a rapprochement with Syria, Baghdad may be trying to “create some kind of positive engagement with the Turksput the problem on the back burner and avoid the threat of intervention,” Lund said.
The Gaza war redistributes the strategic cards
The geopolitical situation in the region has also changed with the war in Gaza and fear of a larger regional conflict. Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, a Turkey analyst and director of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara, said: both countries may feel insecure given the war’s potential regional impact and they are looking for new alliances.
And despite their disagreements over Turkey’s presence in northwestern Syria, Damascus and Ankara have interest in restrict the autonomy of Kurdish groups in northeastern Syria.
Türkiye might be worried that The security situation in northeastern Syria could deteriorate if the United States withdraws its troops, which is currently stationed there as part of a coalition against the Islamic State terrorist group, Unluhisarcikli said. That could require Turkey to “work with Syria or at least coordinate with Syria to deal with the consequences of the US withdrawal,” he said.
