... Turkey wants to put an end to all its problems and benefit from the process of reconstruction. Since the beginning of Syrian civil war, Turkey has managed to maintainits presence in Syria, except for the major crises such as the
SU-24 conflict
with Russia. It is another topic for discussion whether Turkey’s Syrian policy was effective or not in the framework of national interests. Syria has had a place in Turkey’s agenda for 7 years without any deduction butit is still uncertain if Turkey will be able to participate in reconstruction of Syria.
Joost Hiltermann: ...
... weak strategically.
The Turkish factor is also complex. Observers are under the impression that Ankara is currently manoeuvring between Moscow and Washington in a desperate attempt to secure a foothold in Syria. This much was evident at the summit on Syrian settlement between Russia, Turkey and Iran held in Tehran. On the one hand, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to have successfully staved off the planned massive offensive in Idlib by the Syrian Army with support from Russia and Iran. On the other hand, Ankara has ...
... Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist organization in Turkey. Actually, because of this, relations between Turkey and the US continue to worsen. In addition, there is the problem of Fethullah Gülen, regarded as the organizer of 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
This is why Russia has to take a restrained position on this issue so that the developments in Syria evolve in line with its interests. On this, Turks can be helpful, if they propose solutions on the settlement of the situation in the eastern part of Syria for the sake of preserving the country’s territorial integrity. Areas occupied by Kurds ...
... caught up are ordinary citizens and civilians. So, the fact that an agreement was possible in the first place is important for that reason. Secondly, it’s important because it shows that there’s still a possibility for a political transition in Syria, that it will require Russia and Turkey to work together. Thirdly, it was important because it gave some time to work out the very difficult issues that are playing in Idlib. An offensive can solve these problems by military means but at a huge cost. Now that we have more time, maybe ...
... Affairs Council.
On September 10, 2018, Hüseyin Diriöz, Turkish Ambassador to Moscow, and Bashar Basho, Counsellor of the Turkish Embassy in Russia, visited Russian International Affairs Council.
RIAC guests discussed the state of relations between Russia and Turkey, the current situation in Syria and the prospects of preventing further aggravation of the conflict in the Syrian province of Idlib, as well as the role of the two countries in promoting political settlement of the Syrian conflict. More general security issues in the Middle East ...
The opportunities for Turkey and Russia in Syria
Turkey and Russia have had intense negotiations about the fate of Idlib and the de-escalation zone. Turkish authorities visited Moscow numerous times as an assault on Idlib by the Syrian regime seems imminent. Both sides are interested in clearing Idlib ...
... need to say that at the same time it’s not a catastrophic disaster for the Syrian Kurds. One thing the U.S. gave to the Syrian Kurds is an enormous amount of weapons and we are not taking them back. We just do not provide them anymore. In addition, Turkey is in no military position to attack, leave alone examine the Kurdish military facilities, plus Russia is going to play a vital role here. Many Syrian Kurds suppose that Russia will protect them even more than the U.S. in these circumstances.
I’d add to the equation a new factor of anxiety: all the U.S., Russia and Turkey are cautious about Iran as the latter is obviously trying to extend its ...
... Rouhani. In addition,
Israeli sources claim
that on November 23, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation Sergey Naryshkin visited Israel to “brief Israeli security officials following a meeting between the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran on reaching a political solution to the Syrian civil war.” It is such steps on the part of Moscow that perplex Tehran and prompt its concerns. Tehran still prefers to keep silent, but no longer harbours illusions about greater strategic affinity with Russia, as it may have seemed – particularly ...
... relations.
Turkish-Russian relations were once again tested by the assassination by a Turkish Islamist of the Russian ambassador to Ankara who was key to restoring Russian-Turkish relations. This incident took place just before the planned meeting of Turkey, Iran and Russia over the Syrian crisis and just after the UN Resolution on Aleppo in December 2016.
Now, U.S.-Russian relations have been tested once again by the April 2017
decision
of the Trump administration to fire 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase on grounds that the ...
... Interface for Europe
On a different note, I am confident that strengthening bilateral ties among our countries will help contribute to the settlement of a number of regional issues such as the conflict in Syria.
How would you evaluate the cooperation on Syria between Russia and Turkey?
The conflict in Syria can be ended only through a political solution. Therefore, getting the political track resumed where it was left off a year ago has been our main priority. Thanks to our collective efforts with Russia a nationwide ceasefire ...