On Dec. 24, 2009, Turkish and Syrian ministers held a joint Cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Damascus. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shook hands with everyone present before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart, Mohammed Naji al-Otari, sat down at the table to ink agreements. After they signed 13 accords, their ministers followed suit. No fewer than 51 agreements were signed in a single day. Erdogan warmly addressed his “brother Assad” and declared that Turkey and Syria had ushered into a “new era.”
The Arab Spring brought similar scenes of friendship with Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
