Erdogan Seeks to Hold a Summit with Putin, Assad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
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Erdogan Seeks to Hold a Summit with Putin, Assad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had welcomed his call to hold a tripartite meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Addressing journalists on his return from Turkmenistan, where he participated in the first tripartite meeting of the presidents of Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Erdogan said: “I offered Putin a tripartite meeting between the presidents of Türkiye, Russia and Syria…”

“First our intelligence agencies, then defense ministers, and then foreign ministers (of the three countries) could meet. After their meetings we as the leaders may come together. I offered it to Mr. Putin and he has a positive view on it,” Erdogan was cited as saying.

In earlier remarks on Tuesday, Erdogan said that he had asked the Russian president to make “joint steps” in northern Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said two days ago that Ankara was ready to work with the Syrian regime and restore relations with it, and that the intelligence services have been maintaining their contacts with it for some time.

He added: “If the regime acts realistically, we are ready to work together on combatting terrorism, the political process, and the return of the Syrians.”

On Thursday, the Turkish forces resumed joint patrols in Syria with their Russian counterparts. A joint patrol was conducted in the countryside of Darbasiyah and Amuda, north of Hasakah.
Meanwhile, five vehicles of the US forces, accompanied by another belonging to Al-Qasd forces, conducted a tour on Wednesday to inspect sites that had been under air and artillery bombardment by the Turkish forces and their loyal factions, during the operation Claw-Sword.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) noted that the Internal Security Forces (Asayish), affiliated with the SDF, have re-positioned within the points and locations that they had abandoned during the Turkish operation.

These points are located opposite the areas of Operation Peace Spring, which are under the control of the Turkish forces and the factions known as the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army, between the towns of Tal Tamr and Abu Rasin, northwest of Al-Hasakah.



Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
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Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)

A leading Druze movement said on Sunday that the issue of surrendering arms remains unresolved, even as local leaders in southern Syria announced the official start of implementing a peace agreement brokered by Druze clerics and dignitaries in Sweida province.

Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesman for the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's weapons were solely for defense and had never been used offensively.

“The matter of handing over weapons falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and no final decision has been made yet,” Abu Fakhr said. “Our arms have never posed a threat to any party. We have not attacked anyone, and our weapons exist to protect our land and honor.”

He added that while the group does not object to regulating the presence of weapons, full surrender was out of the question.

“We have no issue with organizing arms under state authority, provided they remain within the province’s administrative boundaries and under state supervision,” he said. “But the matter of weapons remains unresolved.”

Formed in 2013, Rijal al-Karama was established to protect the Druze community and prevent its youth from being conscripted into fighting for any side in Syria’s protracted conflict, which erupted after mass protests against then President Bashar al-Assad.

The group continues to operate as an independent local defense force, separate from state security institutions.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that a high-level meeting held last Thursday in Sweida—attended by senior Druze spiritual leaders Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, along with local dignitaries and community members—resulted in an agreement to reactivate the police and judicial police under the Ministry of Interior.

Abu Fakhr also denied recent reports claiming that Druze clerics, tribal leaders, and faction commanders had agreed to fully surrender their weapons to the state.

“This issue has not been resolved by all parties in Sweida,” he said, reiterating the group’s position: “We have no objection to organizing the weapons under state oversight, as long as they remain within the administrative boundaries of the province, but not to surrendering them.”

The statement underscores continuing tensions over the role of armed groups in Sweida, a province that has largely remained outside the control of both government and opposition forces throughout Syria’s civil war.