Syria stipulates Turkey’s withdrawal from its territory for normalization talks

Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser of Syria’s President Assad, has demanded Turkey to withdraw its forces from the Syrian territory for the opening of the normalization talks that President Erdoğan called for. Turkish authorities are using this issue “for their own interests,” she said.

Friday September 27 2024 12:08 pm

Duvar English

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s advisor Bouthaina Shaaban has put some conditions for Turkey for the talks of normalization that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been calling for.

“We said that Turkey should accept the condition of withdrawal from Syrian territory. We did not say that they should withdraw immediately, but if they do not want to accept this principle, we will not sit at the table,” Shaaban said according to reporting from Al-Arab.

Erdoğan on Sept. 21 once again called for a normalization of relations. “As two Muslim nations, we want to realize this unity and solidarity as soon as possible,” he said.

Shaaban said the Turkish authorities were using this issue “for their own interests,” and added that “Today, Turkey is occupying part of our territory, a precious, valuable and rich part of northwestern Syria, and is carrying out a dangerous Turkification process.”

“When Erdoğan made statements in the run-up to the Turkish presidential elections talking about his desire for rapprochement with Syria, it was to win the election, but they offered nothing. They want to continue what they are doing on the ground, occupying our territory, wreaking havoc, attacking the Kurds,” she said.

On several occasions, Erdoğan called for a meeting with Assad to discuss normalizing ties, which Ankara severed after the 2011 Syrian war. But, Assad has said such talks could only happen if the neighbors focus on core issues, including the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the north of Syria.