Türkiye and Syria will determine a roadmap to revive long-frozen relations between the two neighbors and will take steps accordingly, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said as he returned from his trip to the United States to attend the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Washington.
In response to a question about Ankara’s invitation to Syrian President Bashar Assad and where a potential meeting with him would take place, the president said he instructed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who is currently in discussions with his Syrian counterparts regarding the matter.
“We think a just pace is possible in Syria,” Erdoğan said, adding that Ankara always voices its support for Syria’s territorial integrity, which is in Türkiye’s interests.
He continued by saying that Türkiye would benefit the most from peace and stability in Syria, which he said is only possible through the initiation of a new era with Damascus.
The president also said that the U.S. and Iran should welcome the positive developments between the two neighbors and support the process in order to put an end to longstanding pain.
“Our most basic expectation is that nobody is disturbed about Syria constructing a new future as a unified and sovereign country,” the president said, adding that terrorist groups will go to any lengths to disturb the process.
“We are aware of all of these and we are prepared,” Erdoğan said, adding that Ankara wants peace and Syria and expects all actors to support this initiative if they favor peace and stability.
For the first time since relations soured over unrest that began in Syria in 2011, Erdoğan last Sunday said Türkiye will extend a formal invitation to 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 also 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.
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.
Regarding the activities of the PKK terrorist group in Iraq, Erdoğan said Baghdad has taken various concrete steps against it since his last visit. He said the cooperation between Turkish security forces and the administration in Irbil was pleasing, adding that Türkiye has favorable relations with the Iraqi Defense Ministry and intelligence agencies.
Noting that the Iraqi interior ministry officially announced PKK was behind arson attacks in the country, which was confirmed by the Irbil administration, Erdoğan said Türkiye welcomes such developments but they are not enough.
Pointing to the ongoing tensions between Irbil and Sulaymaniyah-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Erdoğan said Türkiye will not change its position toward Sulaymaniyah if it does not distance itself from the PKK.
“The ball is now in their court,” Erdoğan said, noting that Türkiye would re-evaluate its stance if they distanced themselves from the terrorist group.
Heightened collaboration between the terrorist group PKK and an Iraqi Kurdish political entity triggered concerns for Türkiye, the main target of terror attacks and a neighbor of Syria and Iraq whose borders are near major PKK hideouts.
Collaboration between the PUK and the PKK in semi-autonomous Northern Iraq risks spillover of the terrorist group's violent campaigns to the wider region. PUK, based in Northern Iraq's Sulaymaniyah, stands accused of giving more freedom of movement both in the city and rural parts of Sulaymaniyah to PKK.
PKK, not recognized as a terrorist group in Iraq, seeks to legitimize its presence through political parties and nongovernmental organizations in Türkiye's southern neighbor. In rural Sulaymaniyah, it intimidates the local population by setting up "checkpoints" and through extortions and kidnappings.
The terrorist group's activities hindered efforts for infrastructure improvements in some 800 villages in Northern Iraq and disrupted local farmers' access to their lands, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Further east of Sulaymaniyah, PKK is also involved in drug smuggling and smuggling of goods on the Iran-Iraq border.
In central Sulaymaniyah, the terrorist group is affiliated with several organizations, from Tevgera Azadi, a political association, to the Kurdish Women's Research Library and Academy.
PUK issues IDs exclusive to its counterterrorism units to PKK members, helping them to move easily around the city and beyond. PUK's assistance to PKK also helps the latter to build a strategic "bridge" with YPG, the terrorist group's Syria wing. PUK is also behind military training for YPG members who cross into Iraq from northern Syria.
The scope of PUK and PKK cooperation further became evident with a 2023 helicopter crash. Nine people killed in the collision in Iraq's Duhok were found to be PKK members. Moreover, PUK leader Bafel Talabani sent his counterterrorism chief to the funerals of terrorists in Syria's north a week after the crash.
Regarding Türkiye’s concerns about restrictions imposed by some NATO allies on arms exports, Erdoğan said Ankara has time and again raised the issue in various meetings.
He noted that in his bilateral meetings at the summit, he brought up the issue and told them Türkiye does not want to talk about restrictions anymore.
Ankara requested the lifting of the arms export restrictions after Sweden and Finland applied to join the military alliance.
Reiterating Türkiye’s position in favor of negotiations and peace, Erdoğan said both Russia and Ukraine are Türkiye’s neighbors and Ankara enjoys multidimensional relations with both countries.
“We try to preserve this despite the war,” he said, highlighting Türkiye’s balanced position.
He continued by saying that in his discussions on the sidelines of the NATO summit, he drew attention to the need for turning to diplomacy and negotiations before more blood is shed.
“I highlighted that we are ready to maintain the Istanbul process in this regard,” he said, adding that he had previously conveyed Ankara’s expectations to incoming NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during his recent visit to Türkiye.
Pointing to continuous global change, Erdoğan said the current global system is controlled by the powerful countries.
He noted that the West is concerned about the current Russia-China solidarity and they have mobilized all support, including financial, arms and ammunition support to Ukraine. However, he noted that the West’s expectations have not been met in Ukraine, despite their full support, according to the president, who noted that the existence of NATO appears to be their biggest assurance.
Erdoğan noted that Türkiye has a different stance as it maintains dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine, which occasionally may disturb both countries.
“But we always tell them that you are both our neighbors and we have historically had serious relations with both of you,” Erdoğan said, adding that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was an example of this, as it tried to reach the demands of both countries.
Ankara is now trying to revive the initiative, according to the president, who said that he discussed the issue with President Vladimir Putin in their latest meeting and with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit.
“I hope we’re able to revive this grain corridor again,” he added.
Russia on Friday said it has not rule out a possible resumption of the now-defunct Black Sea grain deal.
On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said they had discussed navigational security in the Black Sea, including the grain deal.
He said efforts have started for the revitalization of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and that Ankara is ready for all kinds of initiatives, including mediation, to create a basis for peace.
Russia allowed the Turkish- and United Nations-brokered deal, which for a year facilitated Russian and Ukrainian agricultural exports via the Black Sea, to expire in July 2023.
At the time, it said that it would only renew the deal if obstacles to its own agricultural goods reaching world markets were lifted.
Regarding Ankara’s expectations from NATO allies on counterterrorism efforts, Erdoğan said they have not taken the necessary steps.
“As a NATO country, we’ve always told NATO about our discomfort regarding this issue,” the president said, adding that Germany, France and England are the top three allied countries where terrorist groups find support.
He continued by saying that Ankara was alienated many times as it strived to protect NATO’s borders during its anti-terror efforts and on the contrary, some allies even provided support to the terrorist groups that pose a threat to Türkiye and NATO’s borders.
Türkiye often complains of failures in international cooperation against terrorism and the extradition issue stands out among those failures. The country, which fights against threats from multiple terrorist groups, says it expects the same stance from the international community, particularly its allies.
“This is not a positive picture,” Erdoğan said, adding that Germany has also been withholding turbines needed for the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.
He continued by saying that Germany and Türkiye need to overcome such problems and Ankara will follow developments.
The president also said if NATO’s upcoming secretary-general Rutte visits Türkiye, they would discuss the potential of a Turkish deputy secretary-general, which he said would greatly contribute to the military alliance.
Regarding the recent parliamentary elections in France, and the potential of the leftist alliance to recognize Palestinian statehood, Erdoğan said it would be the right decision.
While noting that President Emmanuel Macron would decide on which coalition parties form the government, Erdoğan said a just and fair stance prioritizes Palestinian recognition.
Saying that Norway, Spain and Slovenia ignited the fire in Europe by official recognizing Palestine, Erdoğan said Türkiye would be pleased if France followed suit.
“The decision to recognize Palestinian sovereignty contributes to global peace,” he said, as he called on all countries not recognizing Palestine to immediately do so.
The only way to regional and global peace is through a two-state solution based on 1967 borders, he added.
Regarding ongoing efforts to normalize relations with Armenia, Erdoğan said once Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace deal, peace would prevail in the region.
He noted that he hopes they sign the deal soon and Türkiye genuinely supports it.
He continued by saying that opening the Zangezur corridor would crown and complete the peace deal and all countries in the region, including Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran, would benefit from it.
Zangezur corridor, which connects the western regions of Azerbaijan to the autonomous region of Nakhchivan, is expected to transform the region into a crucial transportation and trade hub.
The Zangezur region was part of Azerbaijan, although the Soviets gave it to Armenia in the 1920s, leaving Azerbaijan deprived of its direct overland route to Nakhchivan.
For the corridor, Azerbaijan has focused on planned connections including motorways and a 43-kilometer (26.7-mile) railway.
Regarding Türkiye’s relations with China, Erdoğan said his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Astana took place in a warm atmosphere. He said he expects his meeting with Xinping, Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to eventually bear fruit. He also said he invited Jinping to Türkiye, who responded by saying he would do so next year.
He noted that he expects visiting China after the U.N. General Assembly meeting and Jinping would then visit Türkiye in 2025.
After their meeting, Jinping said Beijing and Ankara share "same or similar views" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Ukrainian crisis.
A readout from Beijing said Xi expressed China's readiness to "strengthen coordination and cooperation" with Türkiye within multilateral frameworks such as the U.N. and G20.
