Ankara and Damascus talks; Erdogan’s “election trap” or admitting defeat?
Mohammadreza Moradi: Recently, the media has raised the normalization of relations between Turkey and Syria as a very possible option. Even news about the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been published. Many believe that this issue is just Erdogan’s game to win the presidential election. In this article, we will discuss the status of negotiations between the two countries, the position of Iran and the United States, and finally, the consequences of the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus for the region.
Consequences of the normalization of relations between Turkey and Syria
Turkey may be considered one of the main players in the developments in Syria. Because the southern borders of Turkey had become a safe route for terrorists to enter northern Syria in the last decade. In the past decade, Turkey has repeatedly targeted northern Syria with military attacks in the form of various operations. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Turkish statesmen have always insisted on the plan to create a safe zone with a depth of 30 km and a length of 822 km (the entire border strip between Turkey and Syria), which they have faced with the explicit opposition of other actors. But the course of events in Syria progressed in such a way that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan somehow retreated from his maximum demands on Syria or took this action temporarily. In the current situation, Erdogan is looking to resume relations with Damascus due to the upcoming presidential elections. This issue can have many positive effects. Even if this action of Erdoğan is for show and with electoral goals, it will be an admission of the failure of his projects regarding Syria. The rest of the terrorist groups that are in contact with Turkey in different areas of Syria will have no choice but to move towards reconciliation with Damascus in case of the resumption of relations between Turkey and Syria. It can be said that after a decade, Erdogan has come to the conclusion that a safe and stable Syria will achieve the stability and security of Turkey more than any other option. Earlier, Erdoğan did not believe in this statement and considered bringing Syria into war and conflict as well as military entry into northern Syria as a guarantee of Turkey’s security. But the spread of insecurity inside Turkey and the arrival of Syrian immigrants to different cities in Turkey has caused a wave of political, security and even economic instability. Therefore, the consequences of the resumption of relations between the two countries can lead to the establishment of stability in various areas of Turkey and enable Damascus to act with more power than exercising sovereignty over the remaining areas of Syria.
