ISTANBUL, January 31. /TASS/. The process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Syria, which was slowed down last year, will now resume under the supervision of four parties, Sedat Ergin, an international journalist from the Hurriyet newspaper said.
He believes the Astana format, launched in late 2022, will become the basis for the re-establishment of Turkey-Syria relations. According to the journalist, the negotiations will mostly involve Russia and Iran. "It should be noted that the search for ways to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria falls within the purview of the Astana format," he said.
The journalist recalled that at the end of 2022, the Russian and Turkish defense ministers, as well as the security services heads met in Moscow, and reached an agreement on the Platform's expansion. "A four-party meeting of foreign ministers was held in Moscow at the beginning of May, but, unfortunately, this surge in effort prior to the [presidential and parliamentary] elections in Turkey was not maintained," the article reads, while noting that the biggest obstacle in Ankara-Damascus relations is the matter of trust. More specifically, this involves Turkey's future military presence in Northern Syria, where it is fighting the militants of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK, banned and recognized as terrorist in Ankara) and its Syrian branch, the People's Defense Forces.
On January 16, Hakan Fidan, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated during his speech that Ankara is willing to resume the normalization process, but this is contingent on the PKK leaving the region. "The reports coming out of Turkey regarding the Syrian matter, including military withdrawal from Syria, show that they are aiming at the political settlement in the neighboring country, even via the adoption of a new constitution, which would resolve Turkey's concerns. It could be said that such a prospect would be unlikely in the near future," said the Turkish columnist.
The Syria-Turkey normalization process has been at an impasse since the fall of last year, President Putin's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told TASS on January 29. He believes this occurred because "the Syrian side thought it was necessary that Turkey give assurances to withdraw its troops that are currently illegally stationed in the country.".