Türkiye and Russia held a round of political consultations that discussed Syria and a number of other topics related to bilateral relations and regional issues, including the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Caucasus region.
In a statement on X, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the consultations were led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçabar, and his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Galuzin.
Diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the consultations revolved around Syria and the Russian-sponsored normalization process between Ankara and Damascus, which was halted as both sides acknowledged the presence of many obstacles that need to be addressed.
In this context, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said that the normalization process has not witnessed any progress so far, adding that his country was not engaging in any direct dialogue with Damascus.
Turkish media quoted Keceli as saying on Friday that the Syrian government was setting preconditions for the normalization.
The Russian President’s envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, confirmed in January that the process of normalization of relations between Türkiye and Syria had been completely halted since past autumn, noting the Syrian side wanted assurances from Ankara that Turkish forces currently present illegally on Syrian territory would be withdrawn in the future.
The Turkish military presence in northern Syria constitutes the main obstacle to the progress of the normalization process between Ankara and Damascus. The latter had announced that there would be no talk of any steps for normalization before the troops’ withdrawal.
Ankara, for its part, says that the presence of its forces was necessary until the completion of the political process, the adoption of the constitution, the holding of elections, and the formation of a Syrian government through elections that provide guarantees for the safe return of refugees.
Also, Türkiye says that it does not trust the current ability of the Syrian army to guarantee the security of the common border, in light of the presence of Kurdish militants in the south.
