The Turkish military contingent remains present in the country, and unlike the Russian one, there is no talk of its withdrawal.
This weekend in Saudi Arabia is leavinglasI am meeting. of of the future Syria behind participationі delegations іfrom numerous countries and international organizations. Іwas going about the stability and security of the country. And already on January 15 in Ankara ina meeting took place foreign ministers, defense ministers й intelligence chiefs of Turkey and Syria. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the new Syrian administration was received by the President of Turkey.
Syria remains one of the most complex and unstable countries in the Middle East after more than a decade of civil war and long-term Baath Party rule. It is now a clear priority on Turkey's foreign policy agenda. Ankara has already actively engaged in rebuilding the country, facilitating the return of refugees, and strengthening its own position in Syria.
MEETING IN RIYADH: SANCTIONS RELEASED AND HUMANITARIAN AID
On January 12, delegations from Turkey, Syria, the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman), representatives of the USA, Italy, France, Great Britain and Germany, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt gathered in Riyadh. High-ranking officials from the UN, EU, and the League of Arab States were also present. This is not the first meeting, and the agenda remains unchanged - the future of Syria, its territorial integrity, security stability and reconstruction. The new Syrian government is acutely raising the issue of lifting sanctions against the country, because without this step, in their opinion, the restoration and development of Syria are impossible. The USA has already begun easing sanctions to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country. The EU is cautious and insists that a balanced approach is needed, because sanctions against representatives of the Assad regime should remain in force.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Riyadh that her government wanted a “reasonable approach.” “Sanctions against Assad’s supporters who committed serious crimes during the civil war must remain in place,” she said. At the same time, Germany will help Syria financially, providing 50 million euros for food, temporary housing and medical care.
Syria is counting on the complete lifting of Western sanctions. The US has imposed many restrictions since 1979, when it designated Syria a state sponsor of terrorism, and has tightened them significantly since 2011, when Bashar al-Assad brutally cracked down on mass protests in the country against his rule. The EU has also imposed sanctions on Syria similar to the US measures since 2011. These restrictions generally fall into two categories: targeting specific individuals with entry bans and asset freezes; and blocking the Syrian government's access to global financial networks, restricting imports from Syria to Western countries, and imposing an embargo on Syrian oil exports.
The new Syrian administration's trade minister, Maher Khalil al-Hassan, told Western media after a meeting in Riyadh that Syria would face a "catastrophe" if sanctions were not lifted. The move, the minister said, is necessary to allow the war-ravaged country to make serious investments in industry, energy and hydrocarbons. He said sanctions are currently holding back even wheat imports.
SYRIAN REFUGEES MUST RETURN HOME
As of 2024, according to the UN, at least 7,4 million Syrians remained internally displaced, with an estimated 4,9 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries, primarily Turkey. Another 1,3 million had fled elsewhere, mostly to European countries.
Photo: AA
Immediately after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime, more than 115 citizens who lived in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, quickly returned to Syria. The leader of the new administration in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is confident that 14 million people will return to the country in two years, while only 1-1,5 million will remain outside the country.
Emotional footage of Syrians returning home has spread around the world, but the reality is less bright – the mass return of Syrians to a completely destroyed country requires, first of all, its restoration, the creation of the necessary infrastructure, and stable conditions.
However, EU countries with smaller numbers of Syrian refugees are already preparing to return them to their homeland. The Netherlands intends to return Syrian refugees to their country, following similar statements by Germany and Austria.
Photo: AA
In Turkey, which hosts 3,7 million Syrians, the issue of their return is more acute. To speed up the process, Turkey is ready to take on more responsibility for controlling refugee camps in northeastern Syria, to make its contribution to helping the Syrian people, including in the fight against terrorism.
In the month since December 8, 52 Syrians have returned from Turkey to Syria. Before that, the monthly rate of return was about 622. If this pace continues, it will take at least five years to return all 11 million Syrian refugees. Considering how triggering the issue of Syrian refugees staying inside Turkey has become, how much criticism and dissatisfaction this issue is causing against the state leadership against the backdrop of the economic crisis, it is obvious that they will try to shorten the 3,7-year period as much as possible. To this end, Turkey is ready to take the most active role in the reconstruction of Syria and creating conditions for the return of refugees, and is taking practical steps to do so.
Photo: UNICEF/Muhannad Aldhaher
TURKEY WILL PROVIDE ELECTRICITY TO SYRIA, SYRIA WILL PROVIDE OIL AND GAS TO TURKEY
Let's start with the most pressing. At the end of December last year, a group of experts from Turkey arrived in Damascus and assessed Syria's energy infrastructure. There are areas in the country where electricity and energy services are provided through Turkey. The priority task in Damascus is to restore the infrastructure and provide electricity to more regions, especially in the areas of operations - Idlib and Afrin. The pre-war capacity of the electricity grid in Syria was 8500 megawatts, approximately 5 megawatts were lost as a result of the war, and the current capacity is only 3500 megawatts. Many regions of the country are supplied with electricity for only two to three hours a day. Most of the population meets their electricity needs with the help of generators.
As the country begins to actively rebuild its electricity infrastructure, Turkey and Qatar have sent two power plants to the Syrian coast. Their combined capacity is 800 megawatts per day. The new government estimates that they will increase the country's electricity production by about half.
The Turkish experts also included those who assessed the state of Syria's gas and oil sectors. The main goal is to restore production volumes to those before the start of the civil war in 2011. Given Turkey's high level of dependence on energy imports, this issue is of no less interest to Ankara than the fight against terrorism. But establishing hydrocarbon exports requires pipelines and, accordingly, time to build them. This task is among Ankara's longer-term goals.
Photo: Anka
TURKEY DECLARES READINESS TO DEFEAT ISIS WITHOUT US PARTICIPATION
In mid-December last year, the Turkish embassy in the Syrian capital resumed operations after a 12-year hiatus. On January 20, the Turkish consulate general in Aleppo, where the largest number of refugees arrived in Turkey, will reopen. Turkish Airlines flights will also resume.
In Turkey, the overthrow of the Assad regime and the changes in Syria, on which Ankara had a direct influence, are assessed as a "historic window of opportunity" for Turkey and the region as a whole. It is also an opportunity to realize its own ideal - a Turkey free from terrorism. And the liberation of Syria from the Kurdistan Workers' Party is an integral part of overcoming terrorism. On this issue, Ankara's position is unshakable: the leaders and supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its branches must leave Syria. And for this, Ankara is ready to use any available tools. Turkey has already concentrated a sufficient number of units near its border with Syria, but denies the intention to intervene with the use of military force.
Photo: AA
"If Syria and the region need to be freed from the threat of ISIS, Turkey is the greatest power capable of resolving this issue. Let everyone keep their hands off the region. Together with our Syrian brothers, we will defeat the leaders of ISIS, the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units, a branch of the PKK, - ed.) and other terrorist organizations in a short time. We have the power and strength to do this," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 15.
To better understand this statement, let us recall that the opponent of actions against Kurdish forces in Syria is Washington. The US considers Kurdish forces to be its assistants in the fight against ISIS, and supports them. This causes constant criticism and dissatisfaction from Ankara. From the latest statement of President Erdogan, it is clear that Turkey is ready to defeat ISIS in cooperation with the new Syrian leadership and without the participation of the US. In this case, the victory over ISIS is identical to the weakening of Kurdish groups, the disappearance of the need for their confrontation with ISIS, and, accordingly, the weakening of American influence.
The plans to weaken it do not only concern the influence of the US. The Turkish military contingent remains present in the country, and at the moment there is no talk of its withdrawal from the territory of Syria. Unlike the Russian one. The new transitional government of Syria believes that there is no place for the Russian military presence in the country after the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime. In this case, the issue of using Russian bases remains open - the Khmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia and the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean coast. Russia has been carrying out evacuation measures since the beginning of December, taking out military equipment and property by plane. However, there have been problems with the sea evacuation route - Russian ships are not allowed to enter the port of Tartus. What will happen to these bases in the future is still unknown. But the window of opportunity is open - both for Turkey and for the entire region. And Ankara is unlikely to miss the slightest opportunity to strengthen its positions in post-Assad Syria in the place liberated by Russia.
Olga Budnyk, Ankara
First photo: AA