Turkiye reopened its embassy in Syria, emerging as the first country to do so on Saturday, December 14—twelve years after the end of the diplomatic relations between Damascus and Ankara.
After the flee of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s to Russia, the diplomatic activity continues unabated between Ankara and Damascus. As of December 8, 2024, the 61-year-old Baathist regime was overthrown by opposition forces in Syria. After the armed group took control of Damascus and when it was announced that Assad fled the country, the anti-Baath regime population poured out into the streets with enthusiasm.
“Any attack against the freedom of the Syrian people, the stability of the new Syrian administration and the integrity of the ancient Syrian territory will find us along with the Syrian people,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Didier Billion, who is deputy director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) affirmed that Eroğan has been working for years to create a secure border with the purpose to eliminate terrorist existence.
Since the very beginning of the unrest in Syria in March 2011, which turned into a conflict that would last for years, Türkiye, a neighbouring country with a 911 km land border, has sought to protect Syria’s territorial integrity and unity and to bring the political settlement process to a peaceful conclusion. In addition, eliminating terrorism in the border region, ensuring the security and the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid were some of the basic principles of Ankara’s policy.
To prevent the escalation of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria and its spread to neighboring countries, Ankara has tried to accelerate the resolution process and has actively engaged in international initiatives. In December 2016, Türkiye acted as a guarantor and established a ceasefire in Aleppo and ensured the safe evacuation of 45,000 civilians. As part of measures to enhance security, Türkiye took part in the High-Level Meetings in Astana, Kazakhstan, which started in January 2017 and ended in January 2024.
With the fall of the Syrian regime, a new era awaits the country and Syrians. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which took control of Damascus, announced the election of Mohammed al-Bashir as the country’s interim prime minister. Al-Bashir himself announced on Syrian state television that he would lead the interim government until March 1st.
The Defence Minister Yaşar Güler expressed Türkiye’s willingness to provide military assistance to the new regime emerging in Syria in case of necessity. The Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan added: “We want to see a terror-free Syria, where minorities are not mistreated. We want an inclusive government in Syria”.
The director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkish program, Gönül Tol also affirmed the role of Ankara by saying, “Out of all the region’s major players, Ankara has the strongest channels of communication and history of working with the Islamist group now in charge in Damascus, positioning it to reap the benefits of the Assad regime’s demise”.
While it is not yet clear how the new phase in Syria will unfold and what the relationship between the people and the new interim government will be, Erdoğan argued that Türkiye’s security, stability and the stability of its economy can be secured by spreading this climate in the region and underlined that they will continue to provide all kinds of support to Syria.
