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Moscow Proposes Adana Pact as Alternative to US Security Zone

Turkish Army/ AFP Photo/Nazeer al-Khati
Turkish Army/ AFP Photo/Nazeer al-Khati
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Moscow Proposes Adana Pact as Alternative to US Security Zone

Turkish Army/ AFP Photo/Nazeer al-Khati
Turkish Army/ AFP Photo/Nazeer al-Khati

Moscow has proposed to Ankara the activation of the 1988 “Adana Pact” to allow the Turkish Army to infiltrate 5 kilometers deep into northern Syria as an alternative to a plan reached between Turkey and the US on setting up a 32 kilometer safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border.

The Adana agreement, which was originally designed to help restore bilateral relations between Ankara and Damascus, avoided a war after Ankara hinted it would launch an offensive following the deployment of its forces along the Syrian border.

Under the pact, Damascus worked actively to resolve Turkey's concerns regarding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara.

The Syrian regime had agreed that it would not allow the PKK to operate on its soil.

According to Western diplomats, Moscow plans to activate the Pact in order to push Ankara and Damascus to offer 10 concessions. “Turkey would be offered the right to pursue the PKK five kilometers deep in the north of Syria,” according to the new proposal.

Also, Damascus would abandon any requests related to the Sanjak of Alexandretta, incorporated into Turkey in 1939 and later renamed the province of Hatay. Under the proposal, Syria would also consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

In return, Ankara would admit the legitimacy of the Syrian government and both sides would reopen their embassies.

The two countries would also establish a joint committee and activate a hotline between their security apparatuses.

They should also appoint a security liaison officer at each embassy.

“The Syrian forces might deploy along the Turkish borders under the guarantee of the Russian police,” the Pact noted.

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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.