Turkey told to end ‘occupation’ to thaw its relations with Syria

TURKEY must end its military “occupation” of Syria’s north if it wants normal ties with the Assad regime, Damascus has warned.

Thawing relations between Ankara and Damascus have dealt a blow to Syrian opposition forces who are massed in the north- west of the country near the Turkish border.

For years Turkey has been the only remaining powerful backer of the rebel factions fighting to oust President Bashar al-assad. “We cannot talk about resuming normal ties with Turkey without removing the occupation,” Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad said after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Damascus.

Iran, which along with Russia has been a major backer of the Assad regime throughout the 12-year conflict, has welcomed Turkey’s steps towards rapprochement. The defence ministers of Turkey and Syria met in Moscow last month for the first ministerial-level meeting between the countries since the start of the Syrian war in 2011.

With a meeting between the two presidents expected soon, Mr Mekdad said that “a meeting between Assad and the Turkish leadership depends on removing the reasons for the dispute”. The foreign ministers are slated to meet again next month.

For the past 12 years the Assad regime has sought to put down any dissent or opposition within Syria. Turkey’s longstanding support for armed opposition factions is a major red line for dialogue.

Ankara also has troops stationed across swathes of northern Syria and over the past six years has launched a number of incursions to occupy areas held by Kurdish forces that they view as terrorists.

While it remains unlikely that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, will be willing to remove his troops from the north of Syria given how seriously he takes the threat from his Kurdish foes, he has his own agenda in taking steps toward reconciliation with the Syrian president whom he once called a terrorist.

Ahead of an election this year, Mr Erdogan is facing increasing domestic pressure to send Syrian refugees home amid mounting economic difficulties.

The push to “voluntarily” send Syrians back has raised alarm bells among refugee populations and rights groups who are all too aware that Syria is not a safe place to which to return.