On December 28, the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria met for the first time since 2011. Now Syrian opposition groups fear that a reconciliation with Assad may be on the way.
The meeting of defense ministers is the highest level representatives of Turkey and Syria have met since the war began in 2011. It is being referred to as a “game changer” in relations between the countries.
Turkey’s participation in the meeting is causing a stir because, through the war, the country has established itself as a very important supporter of the Syrian opposition. The country has supported rebels who have tried to overthrow the Assad regime.
Now Syrian opposition groups are calling on Turkey to underline its support for them.
At the same time, thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets amid fears that a reconciliation is underway between the countries, he writes Al Jazeera.
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Protesters in the town of Jisr al-Shughur in Idlib province carried banners with slogans calling for the regime of Bashar al-Assad to be deposed.
– Anyone who shakes Assad’s hand declares himself a war criminal, was also written on one of the posters.
NTB also writes that there have been demonstrations in the countryside in Aleppo and Raqqa.
The conflict in Syria began as part of the Arab Springthe Arab SpringThe Arab Spring is a term for the massive popular uprisings that erupted against the authorities in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. Protesters demanded democratic rights and challenged a number of authoritarian regimes. In many countries the protests have led to political changes, but this has not been the case in countries such as Syria and Yemen. in March 2011. Now the civil war has been raging for nearly 12 years and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee.
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Now Assad’s forces control two-thirds of the country. At the same time, many countries have begun to accept that the regime has won the war.
Last year, Assad visited the UAE in what was his first trip to another Arab country since the war began, according to NTB.
Russia seeks reconciliation
Russia’s defense minister also attended the meeting in Moscow, but unlike Turkey, Russia supported President Bashar al-Assad’s war against its own people both politically and militarily.
The Russian state news agency RIA reported the following about the meeting:
– Ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, the refugee problem and joint efforts to fight extremist groups in Syria were discussed.
Russia has long been pushing for reconciliation between the two neighboring countries.
Erdogan opens up to meet Assad in peace talks
In addition to contributing political support and military training, Turkish soldiers have fought alongside Syrian opposition groups on the ground.
The country has also welcomed 3.5 million Syrians fleeing the Assad regime, but Erdogan is under mounting pressure at home to send them back, NTB writes.
– Our goal is to establish peace and stability in the region, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the wake of the meeting in Moscow.
On Thursday, during a speech in Ankara, he explained that Turkey, Russia and Syria have started a “process”. It means that soon the foreign ministers of the countries will meet in a trilateral format, according to Erdogan.
– After that, we could meet as Russian, Turkish and Syrian leaders, depending on developments, he continued.
The US doesn’t want Assad in the heat
– We do not support countries that improve their relations or express support for the rehabilitation of brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad, said Ned Price, US State Department spokesman earlier this week.
The United States is asking other countries to think twice before letting it go into full swing.
We call on countries to fully assess the Assad regime’s heinous human rights abuses over the past twelve years as it continues to commit atrocities against the Syrian people and deny access to life-saving humanitarian aid, continues Price.
