Turkey grapples with policy change on Syria
Ankara's complex ties with Moscow, the political cost of Syrian refugees and looming elections are all dictating dialogue with Damascus on Ankara, but it has yet to come up with a plan to proceed.
The prospect of fence-mending with Damascus continues to excite Turkey’s political scene after Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed last week that he had spoken briefly with his Syrian counterpart during an international gathering in Belgrade in October and stressed the need to reconcile Syria’s opposition and government.
Opposition groups held protests at more than 30 locations in northern Syria as Ankara sought to assuage the anger with a pledge of continued “solidarity with the Syrian people.” In further comments this week, Cavusoglu argued that his initial remarks had been distorted. “I used the word ‘compromise’ and not ‘making peace,’” he said, adding that a political settlement between Damascus and the opposition was the only way to end the conflict.
Nevertheless, a senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) seemed to confirm the pangs of change in Ankara despite the apparent confusion on how to reorient. Asked whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could meet with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, AKP deputy chairman Hayati Yazici said, “I cannot say this will never happen. [The dialogue] could start at a certain level and be raised to a higher level later.”
How and when the contacts could begin remains open to debate, but the argument for peace with Damascus is clearly gaining weight in various echelons of the Turkish state. A number of prominent retired diplomats and military officers have long been advising reconciliation with Assad. And even neonationalist quarters that back the government’s belligerent stance against the Kurds have been pressing for peace with Damascus.
