Turkey considers it necessary to resume the international process of normalization of the situation in Syria, including the Astana platform, where the Syrian authorities and the opposition will be able to seek compromise. Hurriyet reported on Thursday, citing diplomatic sources.
According to the daily, resuming the Astana format could take quite a long time. It is needed to ensure a stable dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the opposition. Its sources are skeptical about the results of the meetings of the inter-Syrian constitutional committee. However, there is certainty that this work has to be resumed as well, probably with new approaches, the daily says.
Turkey declares its readiness to continue work in the four-party format (Turkey, Russia, Syria, Iran), which is being realized now and which aims at normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus, the daily writes. According to it, in general the Turkish leadership sees that all the sides are expressing their positions openly, so now there is a discussion on preparing a meeting at the level of foreign ministers. Turkey also maintains contacts with Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Hurriyet lists new amnesty in Syria, conditions for returning of refugees, support for its humanitarian efforts in the Arab republic and the fight against terrorism among Ankara's demands. Turkey considers the Kurdish groups operating in northern Syria as terrorists and demands their withdrawal from the border area. Moreover, it insists that the US stop supporting these organizations. Syria, for its part, demands the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the northern regions, considering their presence a threat to its territorial integrity. Ankara declares that it has no claims to Syrian lands and justifies the presence of its forces in the north of the Arab Republic by the need to fight terrorism.
Russia, Turkey and Iran are the guarantors of the peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict. They also initiated the format of a political settlement in Syria, which was called the "Astana process" (negotiations began in January 2017 in the capital of Kazakhstan). The process of normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus was launched on December 28, 2022, in Moscow, when consultations between the heads of the defense ministries of Russia, Syria, and Turkey took place. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier that the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries could take place in early May.
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Based on materials from TASS