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.



Israeli Military Issues Thousands of Call-up Notices

FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
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Israeli Military Issues Thousands of Call-up Notices

FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS

The Israeli military was issuing call-up notices to thousands of reservists on Saturday to support an expansion of its offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported, after the prime minister announced that his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan was postponed.
The reservists will be deployed to Israel's border with Lebanon and in the occupied West Bank, replacing regular soldiers who will lead a new offensive in Gaza, the news site Ynet reported.
The military had no immediate comment, Reuters said.
Earlier, the prime minister's office announced that Benjamin Netanyahu was rescheduling his May 7-11 visit to Azerbaijan, citing recent developments in Gaza and Syria.
The office, which also cited "the intense diplomatic and security schedule", did not announce a new date for the visit. Netanyahu had been expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev.
Israeli media reported on Friday that the security cabinet had approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel broke a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March after seeking to extend it without engaging in talks to permanently end the war. Hamas says it would release the remaining hostages in Gaza only in exchange for an end to the war.
The military has since intensified its bombing campaign and carved out wide buffer zones in Gaza, squeezing the 2.3 million population into an ever narrower zone in the center of the enclave and along the coast and shutting off aid supplies.
Israel's leadership has asserted that it is committed to its war goals of defeating Hamas and bringing back the last 59 hostages held in Gaza.
So far, 192 hostages have been released through negotiations and Israeli military operations since November 2023. Most had been abducted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led groups stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory war has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.