Russia Hopes Syrian-Turkish Relations Can Be Mended in Wake of Devastating Quakes

Over 50,000 people were killed and millions more displaced after series of earthquakes rocked southern Turkiye and northern Syria on February 6. The devastation sparked an unprecedented outpouring of support for Damascus from its Arab neighbors, and given rise to hopes that the Arab Republic could normalize ties with Ankara as well.

Russia is confident that the long crisis in relations between Syria and Turkiye can be resolved, and will continue to do its part to assure this takes place, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said.

“We believe that the differences between Damascus and Ankara can be overcome, and will continue to assist the parties in finding mutually acceptable solutions in the interest of normalizing interstate relations between them and restoring traditional Syrian-Turkish good neighborliness,” Bogdanov told Sputnik.

Syrian-Turkish ties hit an unprecedented low point in 2011, after Ankara began supporting the US and Gulf State-backed covert war against Damascus and President Bashar Assad, opening its doors to militants flowing into Syria, and buying looted Syrian oil from jihadi extremists. Ankara gradually shifted course after Russia entered the conflict in 2015, after suffering a series of terrorist attacks on its home soil, and after being overwhelmed with large numbers of Syrian refugees, reducing its support for anti-Assad forces, and kicking off several military operations in northern Syria targeting Daesh* and US-backed YPG Kurdish militants it considers “terrorists.”

Bogdanov expressed confidence that the dispute between Syria and Turkiye over the unsanctioned deployment of Turkish troops in the Arab Republic can be resolved, given Ankara’s commitments to Moscow and Tehran via the Astana negotiating platform.

“As far as the presence of Turkish troops in Syria is concerned, we have no reason to question its temporary nature. The Turkish side stated this at the highest level, reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. This position has been recorded in a number of Russian-Turkish documents and joint statements of the Astana Troika,” the diplomat said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, center, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo prior to their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022

© Sputnik / Sergei Savostyanov

About a third of Syria remains under foreign occupation, with the majority of these areas controlled by US-allied Kurdish rebels east of the Euphrates River – home to the majority of the country’s oil and its richest agricultural lands. Turkish forces and Turkey-backed militants control wide swathes of territory in Syria’s north and northwest, including the rebel-held province of Idlib. Israel occupies most of the Syrian Golan Heights. Damascus has repeatedly vowed to restore control over all of its internationally-recognized territories, and has demanded the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops not invited into the country by its legitimate government.

Moscow is presently working to help organize a quadripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkiye and Iran. These plans follow a meeting between Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense and intelligence ministers in Moscow in December – the first of their kind in more than a decade. During that gathering, “the main areas for continued joint work were identified and an expert mechanism for its coordination was created,” Bogdanov said.

Bogdanov emphasized that Russia supports Iran’s participation in the Syrian-Turkish negotiations process, given its good relations with both Damascus and Ankara, Tehran’s important role in the region and “constructive participation in the Astana format, which remains the only effective instrument of international assistance on Syrian settlement.”

“All these contacts between the security forces and diplomats are designed to prepare the groundwork for Syrian-Turkish negotiations at various levels. I would like to stress that we are talking about a negotiation process during which potential agreements will crystalize,” the deputy foreign minister said.

Ultimately, Bogdanov stressed that the restoration of friendly ties between Syria and Turkiye is in the long-term interests of both countries, and of their regional partners.

Syria and Turkiye were rocked by devastating earthquakes this month which killed over 43,500 Turks and 6,600 Syrians, and displaced millions more. The disaster prompted an outpouring of support for both countries from its regional neighbors, with many countries which had been hostile to the Assad government throughout the Syrian conflict including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE sending relief supplies and search and rescue teams to the Arab Republic. Assad made an official visit to Oman on Monday, with the trip becoming the first of its kind to a Gulf state in over a decade. On Thursday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan arrived in Damascus for talks with his Syrian counterpart, Fayssal Mikdad.

* Daesh, also known as Islamic State, is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.