After Trump win, Turkey hopeful on Syria reconciliation, US withdrawal
Ankara expresses hope for mending ties with Damascus as well as a potential US military exit from northern Syria following Trump’s victory.
ANKARA — Turkey remains optimistic about reconciliation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a possible US withdrawal from northern Syria, according to recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler.
“I still have hope in Assad. I still hope that we can come together and set Turkey-Syria relations on the right track,” Erdogan told journalists during a flight returning from the COP29 summit in Baku, according to an official transcript released on Wednesday.
“We have extended our hand to the Syrian side for normalization. We believe that this normalization will open the door to peace and stability on Syrian soil. We are not the ones threatening Syria's territorial integrity,” he added.
The remarks came amid speculation that Erdogan protested the Syrian leader over stalled reconciliation efforts between Ankara and Damascus after the Turkish president missed Assad’s speech at a regional summit that both leaders attended in Riyadh earlier this week.
