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Fidan Ignores Damascus Regime's Crimes.. Calls for Political Framework with Opposition
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Declining Turkish influence in the region pushes Turkey to seek an exit through rapprochement with Damascus and abandoning previous positions
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revealed his country's aspiration towards a political framework bringing together the Syrian regime and opposition in a "conflict-free" environment, ignoring the fact that the opposition is a party to a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians with Ankara's support.
In statements to Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" on Sunday, Fidan claimed that "it's important for the regime to provide a safe and stable environment for its people alongside the opposition," blatantly ignoring the fact that the Syrian regime destroyed the country and displaced half its population.
The Turkish minister attempted to distinguish between "contact and dialogue" with the regime, emphasizing that "dialogue must be with the opposition," in an apparent attempt to balance Turkey's interests with its claimed support for the opposition.
Related: Moscow: Preparing for Meeting Including Foreign Ministers of Syria, Turkey, Russia, and Iran
Fidan acknowledged that "Assad and his partners are not ready to reach an agreement with the opposition and major normalization," but he didn't criticize this rigid position, merely stating "so far Assad and his partners don't seem ready to solve some problems."
The Turkish minister shifted to discussing Israeli attacks in Syria, warning against "terrorist organizations" exploiting the situation, focusing on his country's primary concern regarding Kurdish military forces that "occupy a third of Syrian territory with American support" as he claimed, forgetting that his country occupies about 10% of Syrian territory in the northwest, notably the Kurdish-majority Afrin region.
Fidan's statements coincided with Russian support for Turkish normalization with the Syrian regime, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov considered normalizing relations "of great importance for sustainable stability in Syria," ignoring that true stability begins with the departure of the regime's head as primarily responsible for destroying the country.
Turkey continues its efforts to approach the Syrian regime, as Erdogan previously requested Putin's mediation with Assad, in a radical shift from its previous positions where it claimed to stand against the regime's crimes.
Despite Turkey's rush toward normalization, the Syrian regime insists on the condition of Turkish forces withdrawing from northern Syria, while Ankara poses formal conditions regarding elections, constitution, and refugee return, clearly ignoring the core problem of the continued authoritarian regime in Damascus.
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