This Initiative Could 'Help Turkey, Syria Eliminate Differences,' MP Says

As Friday marks the seventh day of Turkey's military operation in the Syrian city of Afrin, a deputy of the Turkish parliament from the Republican People's Party, Serkan Topal, proposed the creation of a Syrian-Turkish reconciliation committee and revealed the details of this plan in an interview with Sputnik.

It is important to create a reconciliation committee to build trust between Ankara and Damascus so that the countries may further exchange information and coordinate their actions, Turkish politician Serkan Topal said.

Although Turkey's recent military operation on Syrian territory has been criticized by Damascus as a violation of its sovereignty and integrity, Topal argues that the authorities of the two countries actually have the same goals.

"Our main task is to preserve the integrity of the Syrian territory. We also want to help put the fighting in Syria to an end. According to our information, the Turkish government maintains relations with the Syrian government. The committee could help resolve the differences [between the two countries]," Topal stated.

According to the politician, right after its creation the new institution should deal with the improvement of ties with the Syrian parliament.

"First, we need to reconcile Syrian and Turkish parliamentarians, and then all other politicians, in order to end the war in Syria and preserve its integrity. When the committee is formed and starts its work, then together [with the Syrians] we will become the largest force in the region. Working together, Turkey and Syria will be able to eliminate terrorism in the region and restore confidence in bilateral relations," the politician said.

"We understand that because of the developments over the past 6 years, it is difficult to return to the level of relations that we had earlier. But if the committee's work is successful and the reconciliation process begins, then we will be able to establish fraternal relations, eliminate differences and jointly counter terrorism," Topal concluded.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Turkey's Battles to Continue Until No Terrorist is Left on Iraqi Border

Turkey's military operation called the Olive Branch was launched on January 20 in the Kurdish-dominated Syrian city of Afrin, controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The latter is considered to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group in Turkey and some other countries.

Despite opposition to the operation by many members of the international community, Ankara has stressed that the advance is not aimed against the Syrian government, calling the territorial integrity of Syria its mutual goal with Damascus.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.