Türkiye could establish a “Syria Friendship Group” at its Parliament to monitor the situation in Syria after the end of Bashar Assad’s 24-year regime, according to Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
“In consultation with political parties at Parliament, we will offer to set up a Syria Friendship Group as soon as possible to follow the developments in Syria starting now,” Kurtulmuş said Thursday at a news conference with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen in the capital Ankara.
“Syria currently does not have a parliament we can contact,” he pointed out. “Türkiye hopes an elected Parliament is formed as soon as possible.”
Syria's new government spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday the country's constitution and Parliament would be suspended for the duration of the three-month transition period following Assad's ouster.
In one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations, anti-regime forces seized the Syrian capital, Damascus, and Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil war and more than 50 years of his family’s brutal rule.
Türkiye, which said it gave no support and had no involvement in the offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said it wanted the new Syrian administration to be inclusive and for Syrians to determine their own future.
Ankara openly backed the Syrian opposition to the Assad regime since the unrest evolved into a civil war in the neighboring country more than a decade ago. Until Assad’s fall, Ankara sought to normalize ties with Damascus and find a political solution to the civil war.
While several countries, including Egypt, Iraq and Italy, swiftly reopened their diplomatic missions in Damascus following the opposition offensive, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara was waiting for the “right conditions to emerge” to reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday boasted of being a “compassionate and merciful refuge” for Syrians fleeing the civil war and “excelling in the test of humanity” in dealing with the Syrian crisis.
“The fall of the bloody Baathist regime has opened pathways to peace and security in Syria,” he said. “As stability grows, the number of voluntary returns will also increase.”
Türkiye has taken in the most refugees from Syria globally, with about 3 million currently living in the country, according to U.N. figures.
