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Türkiye Says ‘Final Step’ Required before Proposed Erdogan, Assad Meeting

Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
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Türkiye Says ‘Final Step’ Required before Proposed Erdogan, Assad Meeting

Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)

Syrian regime media reported that Türkiye has agreed to fully withdraw its military from northern Syria following tripartite talks it held with Damascus and Moscow. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said such a move requires progress in the political process there. 

“Our defense minister and intelligence chief presented our position and the necessary explanation during the meeting in Moscow,” Cavusoglu told reporters on Saturday.  

“We always say that if there is a vacuum, terrorist organizations should not fill this void,” he added, explaining that his country is aware of Syrian sovereignty over the territories where Turkish forces are stationed.  

The top diplomat moved on to affirm that Türkiye has no “ambitions” of taking over Syrian lands. 

“We support the territorial integrity of Syria, but there must be stability in northern Syria, and some steps must be taken in the political process,” he remarked.  

“We have been saying this for a long time,” he stressed.  

Last Wednesday, defense ministers of Russia, Türkiye and Syria held talks in Moscow.  

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow along with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.  

The three countries’ heads of intelligence were also present at the meeting.  

The meeting dealt, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, with the issue of “the safe return of Syrian refugees, cooperation in combating terrorist organizations and the political process in Syria.” 

Discussions between Turkish and Syrian intelligence services had paved the way for the high-level meeting.  

Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, in previous statements, that he offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a summit meeting, preceded by a meeting of the heads of the intelligence services and the ministers of defense and foreign affairs.  

Cavusoglu said that the next step after the defense ministers' meeting “will be to hold a meeting of foreign ministers, and that he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the matter.” 

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Arab World

Sisi Steps Up Criticism of Ethiopia, Rejects ‘Pressure’ on Egypt Over Nile Dam

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi Steps Up Criticism of Ethiopia, Rejects ‘Pressure’ on Egypt Over Nile Dam

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday stepped up his criticism of Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), built on the Nile’s main tributary, which Cairo fears will threaten its water supply.

He rejected what he described as “unilateral measures” along the Nile Basin, warning: “Anyone who thinks Egypt will turn a blind eye to threats to its water security is mistaken.”

Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Sisi said the water issue had become “part of a broader campaign of pressure on Egypt to achieve other objectives.”

“We will remain vigilant and will take all measures guaranteed under international law to safeguard our people’s existential resources,” he vowed.

Sisi stressed that Egypt does not oppose development in Nile Basin countries but insisted such projects must not affect the volume of water reaching Egypt. “The best way to deal with the Nile Basin is to respect everyone’s interests,” he said.

Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, under African Union mediation, have been stalled since April 2021, prompting Cairo to appeal to the UN Security Council for pressure on Addis Ababa.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its water, receives an annual quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters. It is already below the global water poverty line, with only 500 cubic meters per person annually, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

Sisi noted that Egypt and Sudan together receive just 4% of the Nile Basin’s 1,600 billion cubic meters of water, amounting to 85 billion cubic meters.

“This is the only source of life for the two downstream states,” he said, adding that Egypt had never called for “fair water sharing”, which would mean dividing the entire basin’s volume.

Egypt hopes Uganda’s current chairmanship of the Nile Basin Initiative’s consultation mechanism can foster consensus among basin states.

The two leaders inaugurated the Egypt-Uganda Business Forum in Cairo and witnessed the signing of five agreements on water resources, agricultural cooperation and food security, investment, mutual visa exemptions for official passports, and diplomatic cooperation.

The talks come just weeks before Ethiopia plans to inaugurate GERD in September. Former Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mohamed Hegazy said Cairo is counting on Kampala’s role in dam-related consultations.

Relations between Cairo and Kampala have been warming, with Uganda recently hosting a “2+2” dialogue between the foreign and water ministers of both countries. Sisi said Egypt views Uganda as a key partner in the southern Nile Basin and seeks to make it a primary beneficiary of Egypt’s development support mechanisms.