Long and dragged out, the Astana talks over the state of war-torn Syria were back on Tuesday in Kazakhstan. This time, the quadrilateral meeting is accompanied by an appointment to normalize ties between Türkiye and the Assad regime.
In the morning, officials from Türkiye, Russia and Iran, seeking to resolve the conflict in Syria, came together for the 20th round of Astana talks. Bilateral technical meetings are being held as part of the talks, expected to continue on Wednesday as well. The Turkish delegation held talks with the Iranian delegation in the first stage of talks. Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar represents Türkiye in the talks, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov represents Russia. Ali-Asghar Khaji, senior assistant to the foreign minister in special political affairs, represents Iran.
On the Syrian side, the Assad regime is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan, while Ahmed Touma heads the delegation of the Syrian opposition. Officials from Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon attended the Astana talks as observers, along with Geir O. Pedersen, the United Nations special envoy for Syria.
The sides will discuss developments in Syria’s immediate region and developments “in the field,” according to the media reports. Among other topics are counterterrorism efforts in Syria, where terrorist groups, including Daesh, the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, rose to prominence amid the conflict, the release of hostages, the missing persons, as well as the humanitarian situation, rebuilding of Syria, and establishing conditions for the return of Syrian refugees.
In the meantime, the quadrilateral meeting between Türkiye, Syria, Russia and Iran will focus on the road map for the normalization of ties between the Damascus-based regime and Ankara. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Mikhail Bogdanov said it is “the most important meeting” of two-day talks. “This is a very crucial process. We have had a backlog of issues for 12 years. Foreign ministers met in Moscow on May 10, and now we are working on a road map,” he said.
The Astana process, initiated under the leadership of Türkiye and Russia to bring a cease-fire and conflicts under control in Syria, continues to be used as a platform where political and humanitarian issues are discussed. The peace process was launched in January 2017 at the initiative of Türkiye, Russia and Iran. Its meetings also contribute to advancing a United Nations-led diplomatic process in Geneva. Russia joined Syria’s 10-year conflict in September 2015, when the regime’s military appeared close to collapse, and has since helped tip the balance of power in favor of Bashar Assad, whose forces now control much of the country. Hundreds of Russian troops are deployed across Syria and have a military air base along Syria’s Mediterranean coast. While Iran and Russia support Assad, Türkiye has been supporting the opposition. Russia’s long-standing effort to open a channel of dialogue between Türkiye and the Bashar Assad regime paid off last year, as the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia and the Bashar Assad regime met in Moscow. Any normalization between Ankara and Damascus would reshape the decadelong Syrian war. Turkish backing has been vital to sustaining moderate Syrian opposition in their last significant territorial foothold in the northwest after Assad defeated opponents across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.
The resumption of ties between Türkiye and the Assad regime also means relieving Türkiye’s burden of hosting Syrian refugees. “It is not easy to help Syrian refugees; it is not easy to shoulder this burden on Türkiye, our Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Egyptian friends forever. We expect our partners to concentrate on creating the conditions for the return of refugees, too,” Faruk Kaymakcı, Türkiye’s permanent delegate to the European Union, told at a European Union donors’ conference last week. Türkiye clings to its title as the country with the most refugees, largely due to the influx of people fleeing Syria. A report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released last week shows that the countries hosting the most refugees are Türkiye (3.6 million), Iran (3.4 million), Colombia (2.5 million), Germany (2.1 million) and Pakistan (1.7 million).
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has previously said that refugees can only return to their country in “a safe, voluntary, dignified way” while the government works to improve the safety and crumbled state of areas in northern Syria to encourage more people to return to the country. Through charity campaigns and cooperation with other countries, Ankara builds new homes in areas liberated from the terrorist groups in Syria’s north for settlements of returnees. So far, over 554,000 Syrians returned to their country.
