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Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Türkiye reiterated that the “sole purpose” of its deployment in northern Syria is to secure its borders and fight terrorism to avert more human suffering.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar held telephone talks overnight on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss developments in Syria.

Akar stressed that Türkiye will continue to secure peace in the region and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

A Turkish Defense Ministry statement said the officials discussed the talks that had kicked off by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The talks will “greatly help in paving the way for peace and stability in the region and Syria,” it added, underscoring the importance that they continue.

Days earlier, Akar had declared that Turkish military presence in Syria was aimed at combating terrorism and protecting Türkiye’s borders and Syria’s territorial integrity.

The deployment is not an occupation, he stressed.

Moreover, he added that Ankara was waiting on Damascus to acknowledge its position from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the military backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Türkiye views as an extension of the banned terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had demanded the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria as a condition to meeting Erdogan as part of Russian-sponsored efforts to normalize ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Soon after the talks between Akar and Shoigu, Turkish and Russian forces deployed on Thursday a joint patrol in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside north of al-Hasakeh province.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.