Türkiye Prepared to Hand over Syrian Regions under its Control to Regime

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart in Ankara on December 22, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart in Ankara on December 22, 2022. (AFP)
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Türkiye Prepared to Hand over Syrian Regions under its Control to Regime

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart in Ankara on December 22, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart in Ankara on December 22, 2022. (AFP)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed on Thursday that his country was prepared to hand over Syrian regions under its control to the Syrian regime “should political stability be established.”

Speaking to the press, he stressed that Türkiye has repeatedly said it was ready to hand over power in areas it is deployed in Syria to Damascus once political stability is reached.

He made his remarks shortly after a meeting between the Turkish, Syrian and Russian defense ministers in Moscow.

Cavusoglu spoke of the possibility of joint work in the future between Ankara and Damascus should common ground be reached between them over fighting terrorism.

Moreover, he stressed that Türkiye respects Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.

Earlier this month, Russia had proposed during a consultative meeting in Istanbul the withdrawal of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Manbij and Ain al-Arab in northern Syria. The regime would replace the SDF while the Kurdish security forces, Asayish, would remain and be incorporated in the regime forces.

The proposal is in line with Türkiye’s demand for the establishment of a buffer zone 30 kilometers deep into Syrian territory.

Cavusoglu said on Thursday that the United States and some European countries are opposed to the dialogue and rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus because they support the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) that Türkiye views as terrorist.



Syria Announces Ceasefire after Latest Outbreak of Deadly Sectarian Violence

A man holds a placard reading in Arabic "let us raise our voices against the aggression" during a protest against Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
A man holds a placard reading in Arabic "let us raise our voices against the aggression" during a protest against Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
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Syria Announces Ceasefire after Latest Outbreak of Deadly Sectarian Violence

A man holds a placard reading in Arabic "let us raise our voices against the aggression" during a protest against Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
A man holds a placard reading in Arabic "let us raise our voices against the aggression" during a protest against Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 15 July 2025. (EPA)

Syria 's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority.

The latest escalation under Syria’s new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community.

Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city’s "notables and dignitaries" and that government forces would "respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups."

However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement, as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians.

Syria’s Interior Ministry said Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with "taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position."

Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers.

Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to "prevent the Syrian regime from harming" the Druze religious minority "and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria." In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Sharaa to be "eliminated without delay."

A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy.

"We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us," he said, adding that there were "many casualties."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed several innocent civilians" as well as soldiers, and called them "a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference" in Syria's internal matters.

It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, "who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric."

Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Sharaa's opposition fighters ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders.

Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call.

Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that "they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians."

"We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation," he claimed, without offering evidence.

Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches.

The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence "worrisome on all sides" in a post on.

"We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces," he said.