Türkiye is placing high emphasis on cooperation with Russia in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday, as Damascus grapples with several challenges after the fall of longtime dictator Bashar Assad.
In a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan emphasized that cooperation between the two countries is key to resolving regional issues.
It is vital that Türkiye and Russia work together for Syria to achieve peace and stability on the basis of the country’s territorial integrity, Erdoğan underlined. He said that cooperation between the two countries can focus on completely lifting sanctions on Syria as well as eliminating efforts to fan the flames of ethnic and sectarian issues to damage Syria’s unity.
Calling for a peaceful transitional period and an inclusive government, Ankara has led diplomatic efforts since Assad's fall to help Syria regain its normalcy and ensure stability in neighboring countries where developments directly affect Türkiye. Erdoğan has vowed to help the new Syrian administration form a state structure and a new constitution as the government looks to rebuild after 13 years of civil war.
Erdoğan also ordered his ministries to explore steps Türkiye can take for Syria, both political and economic, as well as ways to provide support through various institutions that can travel to Syria when necessary.
On the other hand, in his call with Putin, Erdoğan underlined that Syria’s resources must be left to the Syrian administration, referring to the YPG-dominated SDF, which is based in Syria’s northeastern oil-rich territories. He said that the so-called SDF must be integrated into the central administration.
It is essential for Syria’s stability to stop being a convenient place for terrorist organizations, he added.
Earlier this month, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," the ringleader of the SDF, signed a deal covering several issues. It marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government.
The group, which is the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group, had refused to join the new Syrian Defense Ministry following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye in the northeast, as well as airports and oil fields, under the control of the central government. Syria's Kurds will gain their rights, including teaching and using their language, which was banned for decades under Assad.
The president said further that Türkiye closely follows the process initiated to end the war between Ukraine and Russia and that Ankara is ready for every kind of support to reach an honorable and permanent peace, including hosting talks.
He also told his counterpart that well-intentioned steps for commercial navigation security in the Black Sea would contribute to peace.
The Black Sea is crucial for shipping grain, oil and oil products. It is bordered by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Türkiye, as well as Ukraine and Russia.
The Russian navy mined Ukraine's Black Sea coastline in the early stages of the conflict nearly two years ago. Some of the mines have since drifted into the waters of the three countries, endangering shipping and complicating Ukraine's efforts to break through a Russian naval blockade.
Putin and Erdoğan also exchanged views on the possibility of renewing the Black Sea maritime safety initiative which Moscow hopes could ease Russian agriculture exports, the Kremlin said.
