Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with representatives of the main Syrian opposition groups in Ankara to discuss a political solution to the civil war in the country, his office said Thursday.
The leader of the Syrian National Coalition, Hadi Al Bahra; of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, Bader Jamous; and of the Syrian interim government Abdurrahman Mustafa all met Fidan.
"Türkiye reiterated its support for efforts aiming at substantial, realistic dialogue and negotiations that will pave the way for a comprehensive political solution within the UNSCR 2254 framework," the ministry said.
For the first time since relations soured over unrest that began in Syria in 2011, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in July said Türkiye would extend a formal invitation to President Bashar Assad, who was once a close friend.
His invitation came after the Syrian leader last month said Damascus was open to all initiatives to revive Turkish-Syrian relations “as long as they are based on respecting the sovereignty of the Syrian state over all its territory and fighting all forms of terrorism.”
Assad wants Turkish troops backing his opposition and fighting PKK/YPG terrorists out of northern Syria. Türkiye says its support for the Syrian opposition’s armed forces primarily aims to ensure a terror-free northern Syria immediately across the Turkish border, which suffered several cross-border attacks by the PKK in the past, and that it respects Syria’s sovereignty.
The Damascus-based regime and Ankara sought reconciliation in 2023 with talks sponsored by Assad’s main backers, Russia and Iran, but so far, meetings of Turkish and Syrian regime ministers have failed to produce a solid result in normalization.
Turkish-Syrian relations saw a decline in 1998 when Türkiye accused Syria of supporting the PKK, a terrorist group responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in its decadeslong terror campaign against Türkiye.
Tensions further escalated in 2011 due to the start of the Syrian civil war and a subsequent influx of migrants numbering over 4 million.
Their future regularly comes up in Turkish political debate, with some opponents of Erdoğan promising to send them back to Syria while Erdoğan assures their return would be voluntary and “dignified”.
The push for restoring relations also comes after recent riots in central Türkiye that targeted Syrian refugees and led to vandalism of their residences and businesses. The riots triggered suspicions that the riots, coupled with anti-Turkish attacks in Syria’s north, may be the work of a wider provocation as they later spilled over into several Turkish cities.
