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Türkiye: No Plans for Erdogan-Assad Meeting

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2022. (EPA)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2022. (EPA)
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Türkiye: No Plans for Erdogan-Assad Meeting

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2022. (EPA)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2022. (EPA)

Türkiye on Monday confirmed there are no plans for a meeting soon between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“We don’t have an immediate plan for such a meeting, but our president is sending a message: If you act responsibly, if you address the security concerns and allow the political process to move forward, then I might be prepared to take that step,” Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said in a television interview.

He added that Türkiye also needs to know whether the Assad regime will take a clear stance against the PKK and its Syrian offshoots the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Last week, Reuters said Assad had rejected a proposal by Russia's President Vladimir Putin to meet Erdogan. It said no rapprochement will happen before theTurkish presidential and parliamentary elections next year not to hand Erdogan a victory for free.

Meanwhile, Türkiye denied that Ankara requested a Russian-Iranian green light for its operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.

“We don’t ask for permission, we just coordinate with our allies when we face a national security threat,” Kalin said

He also pointed out that under a deal signed in 2019, the US was supposed to make YPG/PKK ‘terrorists’ move 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from the Turkish border, but the agreement was never implemented.

Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence forces "neutralized" a senior PKK member in northern Syria.

The Turkish Anadolu Agency (AA) said Siham Mislih, codenamed "Mizgin Kobani," was neutralized in an operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

Mislih was one of the senior YPG/PKK terrorists in Ayn Issa and plotted terrorist acts against the Turkish security forces in the Operation Peace Spring region, AA added.

Also, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Turkish security forces “neutralized” five YPG/PKK members in northern Syria.

The PYG members were plotting to launch an attack in the Operation Peace Spring, Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield zones, the ministry said in a statement.

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Arab World

Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Sunday that the decision to confine all arms to the state has already been made, but he emphasized that its enforcement hinges on the “right conditions” to determine the timing and method.
Aoun’s statement came two days after Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem firmly rejected any possibility of disarmament. “We will not allow anyone to disarm Hezbollah or the resistance,” Qassem had said in a televised address.
He warned that Hezbollah has “other options,” though he stopped short of specifying them.
Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has successfully thwarted Israel’s objectives in southern Lebanon, and revealed that “positive messages” had been exchanged with President Aoun regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Aoun
Following an Easter Mass and a closed-door meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Aoun reiterated his stance on confining weapons to the state, emphasizing that the matter “should not be debated through media or social platforms, but rather approached with national responsibility and without provocation”.
He added that the nation’s best interest must always come first, reaffirming that his call, as mentioned in his inaugural address, for exclusive state control over arms was not mere words.
“When I spoke of the state’s exclusive right to arms in my oath of office, it wasn’t just words. I said it because I firmly believe that the Lebanese people do not want war and can no longer bear its consequences or even the language of war,” he said.
In addressing the challenges facing this matter and how to reconcile between external pressures on Lebanon and internal calls for a more gradual approach, Aoun said: “We must address the matter responsibly and with composure because it is a sensitive and fundamental matter for preserving civil peace”.
President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for internal dialogue as the only viable path to resolve contentious national issues, including the question of Hezbollah’s arms. He warned against confrontation, which he said could lead Lebanon toward destruction.
Patriarch Al-Rahi
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during his Easter Mass sermon, voiced strong support for Aoun’s position on state sovereignty and the monopoly of arms.
Rahi endorsed Aoun’s message that "only the state can protect us—a strong, sovereign, and just state, born from the will of the Lebanese people and committed to their well-being, peace, and prosperity."