Turkish President Says Does Not Rule Out Dialogue with Syria

Asked about potential talks with Damascus, he was quoted as saying diplomacy between states can never be fully severed, taking what appeared to be a softer tone than his previous comments. There is a “need to take further steps with Syria,” Erdogan also said to reporters.

The development comes against the backdrop of Ankara’s constant threats to launch a massive military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Syria to establish what it calls a “secure line” along Turkey’s border with the Arab country.

Turkey has launched successive military incursions into Syria and deployed its forces in the Arab country to crush Kurdish militants.

Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push YPG fighters away from border areas.

Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.

Turkey has also strongly opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the foreign-backed conflict in the Arab country in 2011 and has been supporting militants calling for his removal from power.

However, Ankara has recently been seeking to warm relations with Damascus due to domestic pressure. The Turkish opposition’s calls for reconciliation between Turkey and Syria are increasing every day, as the public grows increasingly hostile to the nearly four million Syrian refugees in the country.

In recent weeks, dozens of protesters gathered at a Turkish army checkpoint in Idlib’s Mastuma area, where they shouted slogans against both Damascus and Ankara.

The protests prompted the Turkish government to back down, with Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic saying in a statement last week that Ankara “threw full support behind the opposition and the negotiation committee throughout the political process.”

Syria remains the biggest displacement crisis in the world, with 6.8 million refugees and 6.2 million people internally displaced, according to UN figures.

But in recent years, many Arab countries, most prominently the UAE, have resumed ties with Damascus. Several have been urging the Arab League to reinstate Syria.

Crippled by a decade of war on terror, harsh sanctions and a devastating economic crisis, Damascus is also keen to re-engage with the world.