Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda boss who became the “transitional” president of Syria after ousting dictator Bashar Assad, is reportedly looking for a joint defense pact with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Reuters on Tuesday quoted “a Syrian security official, two Damascus-based foreign security sources and a senior regional intelligence official” who said Erdogan is keenly interested in developing a relationship with post-Assad Syria, muscling its way into the power vacuum created by the defeat of Assad’s old patrons Russia and Iran.
Sharaa and Erdogan are therefore negotiating an agreement that would allow Turkey to “establish new air bases in Syria, use Syrian airspace for military purposes, and take a lead role in training troops in Syria’s new army.”
One of Sharaa’s officials confirmed the broad outlines of the deal, particularly the new Syrian government’s enthusiasm for getting its army trained by Turkey. The insurgents have technically dissolved both the Syrian Army and all of the armed militias in their coalition and plan to reconstitute them as a new national army under unified command.
Turkish officials told Reuters they had no comment on the record about Turkish airbases in Syria, but they did say Erdogan would discuss “joint measures to rebuild Syria’s economy and achieve stability and security” with Sharaa.
Syria’s new defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, has previously stated he would “welcome” assistance from allied governments with “arming, training, air defense, or other issues,” without specifying which allies he had in mind.
The insurgent government of Syria has said it wants to maintain good relations with Russia, but it also seems intent on seeing the Russians out of their two big bases on Syrian soil, the naval port of Tartus and the airbase at Khmeimim.
The Russians and Syrians have said little on the record about the final disposition of these bases, but satellite photos suggest the Russians are quietly pulling out of both. Meanwhile, the Russians have been shipping resources to Libya as a possible alternative for their lost positions in Syria.
Turkey’s most pressing interest in Syria is not the new jihadi government, but rather Syrian Kurdish militia groups – many of which were staunch allies of the U.S. and Europe during the battle against the Islamic State, but all of which Turkey regards as threats to its security. One of Reuters’ sources said Turkey was especially keen to establish airfields within striking range of Kurdish YPG militia bases.
Turkey’s second immediate priority is stabilizing Syria enough to return the huge number of refugees who settled in Turkey during the long and brutal Syrian Civil War. According to the United Nations, about 200,000 Syrian refugees have already returned home from Turkey, but millions remain.
Erdogan on Tuesday described his meeting with al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Ankara as “historic.”
“We never abandoned our Syrian sisters and brothers in their hardest times, and we will continue to support them in this new period,” the Turkish president declared.
“We have no doubt that our Syrian sisters and brothers, who inspire the region with their resilience, will rebuild their country,” he said, calling on other Arab and Muslim powers to help the Syrians rebuild.
“By acting in solidarity with Syria, I believe we will fully establish a climate of peace and security in our shared region, free from terrorism,” he said.
Al-Sharaa invited Erdogan to visit Syria soon to further develop their “strategic partnership” and hinted he was open to discussing Turkey’s issues with the Kurds.
“We are working on building a strategic partnership with Turkey to confront the security threats in the region to guarantee permanent security and stability to Syria and Turkey,” Sharaa said.
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