Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
TT
20

Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)

Türkiye reiterated its commitment to a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Syria, backing dialogue and negotiations between the Damascus regime and opposition.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Ankara on Thursday with leaders of the Syrian opposition.

The officials discussed the current developments in Syria and efforts to restore relations between Ankara and Damascus to the way they were before the eruption of the crisis in 2011.

In a post on the X platform, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Fidan met with head of the National Coalition for the Forces of the Revolution and Syrian Opposition Hadi al-Bahra, head of the negotiations committee Nader Jamous and Prime Minister of the interim government Abdulrahman Mustafa.

Fidan stressed to his guests Türkiye’s support for realistic and purposeful dialogue and negotiations that would pave the way for a comprehensive political solution based on United Nations Security Council resolution 2254.

The FM said last week that “reconciliation with the opposition is the Syrian government’s problem and duty.”

Türkiye encourages meetings between the government and opposition, but it cannot force the opposition to do so, he added.

“We want the government to sit with the opposition, assess the problems and kick off negotiations to reach a solution,” he remarked.

He stressed that it is “impossible” to ignore the opposition.

Russia, meanwhile, is intensifying its efforts for Türkiye and Syria to normalize relations.

Fidan met with the opposition days after Russian presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev visited Ankara for talks on the Syrian crisis.

He met with deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz on Saturday as part of consultations over Syria.

Lavrentiev had visited Damascus on June 26 for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. Talks covered restoring ties with Ankara back to the way they were before the crisis erupted.

Assad was receptive to the proposals to that end.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.