Not so long ago, there was a time when the two of them said bad words to each other. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned. “murderer and terrorist” to his Syrian counterpart, beshar Esad, the person the Turk predicts eternity in hell. Assad replied to Erdogan, “fascist and butcher”.
Distrust between these two neighbors has already been broken since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, and Erdogan, who has Turkish troops in Syria and openly supports Syria, rebel oppositionHe never concealed his wish for the overthrow of the Assad regime. Sam.
But now, 2023, things have changed. The bad words are behind us and he assures that he will now be where Erdogan used to call a murderer and a terrorist. He wants to meet with Assad face to face. Of course, always through Moscow and the president of Russia Vladimir PutinNOestablishing himself as a moderator between the two.
That so-called rendezvous is still far away, but others are already happening. This Tuesday and Wednesday, Syrian and Turkish delegations headed by their respective countries deputy foreign ministers– He will meet in Moscow to discuss the future of the Syrian war. In these meetings, Russia And IranianThe two countries are Assad’s allies in the Syrian conflict.
“This meeting is expected to be a continuation of our work. standardization process. However, this meeting will be on a technical level and no important decision is expected, instead the situation on the ground will be discussed.” “Reuters”. However, this is the highest level meeting among members. Ministries of Foreign Affairs related to Türkiye And Syria.
Elections in Turkey
The next steps were not disclosed: a meeting between the parties is expected in the coming weeks or months. ministers Foreign Affairs, it is unlikely that a meeting between the presidents will take place only with the words of Assad himself.
And the next reason presidential election It will be held in Turkey in May. Erdogan tries to meet with Assad during low popularity hours. Turkish voter government that previously welcomed Syrian refugees fleeing their country – wants a deal with Damascus, so these refugees It can be returned to Syria. The vast majority of Turkey’s population has been plunged into an inflationary crisis that has devastated almost the entire country. middle class The country wants the refugees to be deported.
However, Assad has so far refused to meet with Erdogan, despite Moscow’s insistence. “Any conversation with us will have to come after us. Türkiye Complete withdrawal from Syrian territory”, the Syrian president said in an interview with the Russian public news agency during his visit to Russia this March: ‘Ria Novosti’. Right now, Turkish armyAlong with its ally Syrian opposition militias, it controls several Syrian provinces in the north of the country.