Ankara urges smooth transition in Syria after regime collapse
ANKARA
Türkiye's top diplomat has called on opposition groups and international actors to facilitate a smooth and peaceful transition in Syria by establishing a new, inclusive interim government, hours after the six-decade-old Baath regime collapsed in the early hours of Dec. 8.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was in Doha for meetings with Astana Process partners Russia and Iran, as well as other prominent Arab nations, held a press conference on Dec. 8 to explain how Türkiye sees the recent developments in its southern neighboring country.
“Assad regime collapsed, and control of the country is changing hands,” Fidan told reporters. “This didn't happen overnight. For the last 13 years, the country has been in turmoil,” he added, referring to the civil war that began in 2011.
“We, as Türkiye want to work with the new Syrian government and all neighboring countries for economic, logistic [development] of Syria,” he said, underlining that it is time to rebuild Syria.
He blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for not seeing the implosion of the state he runs and for not shaking the friendship hand extended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent months.
The Turkish foreign minister underscored that the new administration should run the country in an orderly and inclusive manner, urging the different oppositional groups to unite in a bid to avoid instability in this very sensitive environment.
“All the oppositional groups as well as international and regional actors should act in a very cautious and calm manner,” he said, stressing that the transition process should be crafted and implemented cautiously.
The new government should treat everyone in the country including minorities, non-Muslim groups, members of different sect groups and others fairly and they should safeguard the Syrian state institutions, Fidan recalled, also urging them not to act in a revanchist way.
“Millions of Syrians fled their country but now they can return in an honorable way,” he said.
He also stressed the need for the surveillance of the Syrian army’s chemical weapons arsenal.
No tolerance against terror organizations
Fidan stated that Ankara is in talks with key regional actors and the United States, which has troops in eastern Syria, about the terror threat posed by Syria, adding, "Americans know that we will respond to any terrorist threat against Türkiye."
There are Syrian Kurdish groups who have been on the opposition side since 2011, Fidan recalled, underlining that YPG/PKK cannot be seen as legitimate Kurdish groups due to their terrorist acts.
In the meantime, Fidan held a phone conversation with the EU’s high representative for foreign policy and security, Kaja Kallas, on the recent developments in Syria.