Politics

Syria orders Turkey to remove troops if it wants to restore ties


The Turkish and Syrian defence ministers met in Moscow last month for the first ministerial-level meeting between the two countries since the start of the Syrian war in 2011.

With a meeting between the two presidents expected soon, Mr Mekdad said that “a meeting between Assad and the Turkish leadership depends on removing the reasons for the dispute”. The foreign ministers are slated to meet next month.

For the last 12 years, the Assad regime has sought to put down any dissent or opposition within Syria. Turkey’s long-standing support for armed opposition factions is a major red line for furthering dialogue.

Ankara also has troops stationed across swathes of northern Syria and over the past six years has launched a number of incursions to occupy areas held by Kurdish forces that it views as “terrorists”.  

While it remains unlikely that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, will be willing to remove his troops from the north of Syria, given how seriously he takes the threat from his Kurdish foes, he has his own agenda in taking steps towards reconciliation with the Syrian president whom he once called a terrorist.

Ahead of an election this year, Mr Erdogan is facing increasing domestic pressure to send Syrian refugees home amid mounting economic difficulties.

The push to “voluntarily” send Syrians back has raised alarm bells among refugee populations and rights groups who are all too aware that Syria is not safe to return to.



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