Ankara welcomes Moscow’s role in Türkiye-Syria normalization bid

ANKARA

Ankara has reiterated that it welcomes the role Russia is playing in mending ties between Türkiye and Syria.

“We welcome Russia’s efforts to establish engagement between our country and the Damascus administration,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said on Sept. 4 in response to a question about recent remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov stressed that a four-way meeting with the participation of Russia, Iran, Türkiye and Syria can soon take place to give a boost to Ankara-Damascus normalization. He also stressed that Türkiye may pull out its troops from Syria but specific parameters haven’t been agreed yet.

Keçeli said that Türkiye wants to see a neighboring country whose people live in peace through a conciliation process that fulfills the demands of its people in line with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. This country should contribute to regional stability and be able to offer a prosperous and comfortable life to its citizens, the spokesperson stated.

“And we underline that all these should be implemented with good intentions, without preconditions and with a realistic approach,” he said, adding, “In this regard, efforts to create a suitable ground will continue.”

Türkiye and Syria held two meetings at the senior ministerial level in 2023 under Russian mediation, but these meetings yielded no results due to Damascus' insistence on the withdrawal of Turkish troops from its territory.

Türkiye says it will withdraw when Syria is fully cleared from the terrorists and public order is secured. It also underlines that Syria should take steps in line with resolution 2254 of the U.N. Security Council, which stipulates a change in the Syrian constitution and holding free and fair elections.