Turkish statements about rapprochement with Damascus have returned to the fore again. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out on Sunday with statements calling for a Syrian-Russian-Turkish meeting, pointing out the possibility of Iran joining this meeting for the first time.
He said in remarks quoted by the Anadolu Agency: Let Turkey, Russia and Syria meet, and Iran can join, and let us hold our meetings along these lines. We have obtained and continue to obtain results in this regard.
Arab diplomatic sources in Ankara contacted by Al-Watan talked about the support enjoyed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by countries considered allies of Damascus, namely Iran and Russia. This comes against the background of information that the Turkish opposition, which will present its candidate to confront Erdogan, is completely inclined towards the West, specifically the United States.
The sources pointed out that the declared transatlantic tendencies of the Turkish opposition seem to be one of the most important reasons that made the allies of Damascus to have an interest in supporting Erdogan’s survival in power, and thus supporting all steps that will contribute to raising the voting rates for him in the upcoming July elections, in which Erdogan and the upcoming Turkish policy stand at a crossroads.
The sources pointed out that Moscow’s involvement in its war in Ukraine and the subsequent Western pressure and the attempt to encircle Russia economically, and Erdogan’s ability to suggest that his country stands neutral towards this war made Erdogan and his party a Russian need to stay in power. This comes without neglecting his success in maintaining a good and extended relationship with Tehran, which considers the arrival of Erdogan’s Atlantic opponents to power is not in its interest.
The sources revealed that Damascus, which was surprised by the leaks that talked about setting the middle of this month as a date for the tripartite meeting that was supposed to bring together the foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey and Russia in Moscow, announced its refusal to hold any meeting unless it was fruitful towards meeting its demands.
The sources added: Syria does not want to be in a meeting for the sake of meetings and media, which will inevitably invest in the internal electoral conflict. Damascus, which is loyal to its Russian and Iranian allies, does not see itself as concerned with the Turkish elections as much as it is concerned with its supreme interests and the interest of the Syrian people.
The sources pointed out that Damascus has not yet given any opinion regarding the Turkish elections and has not announced its inclination to any Turkish party. The Turkish opposition announced its electoral papers for Syria. It confirmed its intention to push for dialogue with it. Some of its leaders stated their intention to pay compensation to Damascus for the damage caused by Erdogan’s policy. In contrast, others asked the leaders of the Turkish opposition to meet with President Assad, and worked to promote through the Turkish media these intentions, which they even support.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
