Turkish Foreign Minister Visits Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently paid a visit to Syria, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to pay a visit to Damascus in the near future. The Turkish embassy has recently reopened in the Syrian capital following a 12-year absence, following the recent regime change in Syria.
Turkey seeks to establish itself as a key player in Syrian affairs and fill the role previously occupied by Moscow and Tehran. However, both the United States and Israel are committed to preventing Syria from becoming a strategic stronghold for Turkey.
Israeli and Turkish Influence in Syria
West Asian expert Andrey Ontikov notes that in the short-term, both Turkey and Israel appear to be gaining ground. The Turks have successfully established their proxies in Damascus. Qatar, another country, could also benefit from this development, as there are discussions about reviving a gas pipeline project from Qatar to Turkey and Europe through Syria. Meanwhile, Israel is expanding its presence in Syria and the prospects for Israel leaving the region are uncertain.
Ontikov emphasizes that in the long-term, the United States poses a threat to Turkish interests as they are planning to create an independent Kurdish state. The analyst believes that such a state could encompass parts of Syrian, Iranian, and Turkish territories.
Alina Sbitneva from the Department of Middle and Post-Soviet Studies at the Institute for Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences notes that Turkey’s presence in Syria is firmly established and shows no signs of abating. She adds that Ankara has been actively establishing ties with new actors in Syria, despite having been present for some time. Sbitneva emphasizes that Russia has invested heavily in the region and will not easily relinquish its interests. President Vladimir Putin stated last week that the fall of Bashar al-Assad does not represent a defeat for Russia as it has broader strategic goals, with the presence of Russian military bases serving as evidence of this.
The expert emphasizes that the primary concern for Turkey is not Russian presence but rather US policies and Israeli actions, which are supported by Washington, as they claim vast territories in Syria.
The Iranian position
Iranian government spokesperson has expressed Tehran’s willingness to reopen its embassy in Damascus following the challenges faced by Syria two weeks after the takeover of the country by HTS (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham) militants. During a press conference, Mohajerani emphasized that Iran will pursue this through diplomatic channels.
“Our approach to embassy reopening is diplomatic, as it has always been, and we are prepared for this,” she stated. “They are also prepared and we are engaged in diplomatic negotiations to reopen embassies,” she added.
Following the takeover by HTS on December 8th, which ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule, Syria continues to face numerous challenges both domestically and internationally. Syria’s stability and future remain threatened by several factors, including Israeli occupation of Syrian territories driven by expansionist policies and the continued presence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States, in northern regions.
Other challenges arise from human rights abuses by HTS against minority groups and escalating humanitarian crises such as worsening food security in Syria.
Photo: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Ahmad al-Sharaa / © Turkish Foreign Ministry press service via AP
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