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Turkey hints at normalization of ties with Syria
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s prime minister hinted on Wednesday that his country wants to normalize ties with Syria in what would mark a U-turn in its foreign policy after Ankara’s long vociferous objection against  Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... ’s regime. "I am sure that we will return (our) ties with Syria to normal. We need it," Binali Yildirim said in a televised address Wednesday, describing how Turkey is expanding its circle of friends. Turkey, which has long argued that only Assad’s departure could stabilize Syria and is a necessary component to yield a political solution in the conflict-torn country, had its premier making the statement following the restoration of diplomatic ties with Russia and Israel. Russia and Iran both back Assad, and Turkey cut ties with the Syrian regime after a popular uprising erupted in 2011. "We normalized relations with Russia and Israel. I’m sure we will normalize relations with Syria as well. For the fight against terrorism to succeed stability needs to return to Syria and Iraq," Yildirim said. He also said that Turkey’s "greatest and irrevocable goal" is to develop relations not only with Syria but also with Iraq and "all our neighbors that surround the Mediterranean and the Black Sea." While one official told Rooters that "there is currently no change in Turkey’s Syria policy" and that Turkey "does not want to have problems with any countries in the region and emphasizes the importance of ending terrorism," analysts deem Yildirim’s statement as revealing Ankara’s re-organizing its priorities in light of the consequences felt in the country following the Syrian crisis. For his part, London-based Syrian journalist Ghassan Ibrahim wrote on his official Facebook page that the "password for the closer ties between [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [Syrian President] Bashir al-Assad was... the Kurds." Ibrahim, who has numerously criticized the Assad regime, also wrote speculating in another Facebook post that the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus was a pre-condition for Turkey’s normalization with Russia, and both could work to halt the creation of a separate Kurdish state. Posted by: Fred 2016-07-14 |
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