Upcoming Visit by Erdogan to Damascus.. Fidan: Israeli Policies Are the Biggest Obstacle to Stability in Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that Syrian-Turkish relations have made progress in the fight against terrorism over the past two years, noting that the Syrian state is demonstrating serious efforts in this regard. Fidan said during a press conference held yesterday in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Foreign Minister and Expatriates Affairs Minister Asaad al-Shaybani, that an agreement was reached to establish a joint committee chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries to achieve progress in all sectors as quickly as possible.
Fidan revealed an upcoming visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Syria soon, stating that meetings between the two countries would be intensive and cover political, economic, and military issues. He clarified that Syria is moving forward and growing economically day by day, healing its wounds more and more, which is a positive development for the Syrian people. He pointed out that the United States removed Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, eliminating one of the obstacles to its economic integration.
He noted that interest in Syria is not limited to tenders and energy, but also extends to the clothing sector and industrialists. On security matters, the Turkish Foreign Minister considered the dissolution of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their full integration into the Syrian state as an important and valuable step.
Regarding regional developments, Fidan accused Israel of playing a negative role in Syria for years, arguing that the continued targeting of Syria’s capabilities indirectly supports the Islamic State (ISIS) organization. He emphasized that Israeli attacks harm policies aimed at stability and positive developments in Syria, and that Israeli policies constitute the greatest obstacle to its stability.
For his part, Minister al-Shaybani affirmed that “Syrian intentions have not been met with a positive response from Israel, and we continue to witness repeated Israeli aggression.” He considered the targeting of Abu al-Dhaher Airport to have no legitimate or legal justification, describing it as an exercise of a policy that does not respect the other party.
On Syrian-Turkish relations, al-Shaybani stated that they are unaffected by Israeli aggression and are currently at their best, with the level of political coordination between the two countries having advanced significantly. He believed that Israeli policy has contributed to numerous attempts to destabilize Syria, affirming that his country seeks to live in security, peace, and stability, rebuild itself, and repair what was destroyed by war.
