Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
From the News Desk on The Cradle, September 24, 2022
On 23 September, the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faysal Mikdad, denied establishing contact with the Turkish Foreign Ministry concerning the normalization of relations between the two conflicting countries.
“There are no negotiations underway on the normalization of relations with Turkey,” Miqdad said in a statement published by the Russian news agency Sputnik, adding that “Ankara is an obstacle to a solution of the Syrian crisis.”
He pointed out that the Astana talks are the only viable framework for resolving the Syrian conflict.
In addition, the Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin also denied diplomatic contact with Damascus during an interview with Turkish media.
However, he noted that Turkish and Syrian intelligence are collaborating on several matters, referring to the recent meetings of the Turkish intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan Baali, and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mamlouk.
A few days ago, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed his desire to meet the Syrian president “if he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit” in Uzbekistan.
On 21 September, Asharq Al-Awsat news reported that Turkey has “no plans” to withdraw from Syria.
“A special meeting was held in northwestern Syria in recent days. It included several opposition soldiers and a Turkish military official,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported quoting a Syrian opposition leader.
The Russian Federation has been pushing both countries to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and normalize relations, while the Russian army is conducting its so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In March 2020, Ankara and Moscow brokered a ceasefire deal to avoid a significant military escalation in Idlib.
The Turkish army and their backed militants occupy 8,835 square kilometers in Syria. Turkey has set its goal of achieving a 30-kilometer long “safe zone” on its southern border with neighboring Syria, to curb the “threat” of Kurdish separatists, according to previous government statements.
