Rapprochement between Turkey and Syria on the Horizon?

LobeLog originally published this article on September 25, 2017

For decades, Turkey and Syria’s bilateral ties have fluctuated vastly. In 1998, the two nations almost went to war over Damascus’ support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), sovereign disputes involving Hatay province, Turkish-Israeli relations, and water issues. After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) ascended to power in 2002, a new Turkish foreign policy of “zero problems with neighbors” heralded a period of cooperation between both capitals that also extended to military cooperation. Yet relations deteriorated in 2011 after the “Arab Spring” quickly spiraled into a bloody civil war in which Ankara backed the Syrian opposition and permitted foreign fighters from all corners of the world to transit Turkey on their way to Syria.

Recently, however, several events suggest that Ankara and Damascus may soon begin a new chapter in their relationship and reconcile differences of the past due to global and regional trends that give both governments interests in a rapprochement.

Last month, Turkish and Syrian senior security officers met for three days on the Lebanese-Syrian border. Officials in Ankara also reduced salaries for the Syrian National Coalition’s members, underscoring how the Syrian rebels are losing their backing from Turkey as their Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sponsors are divided and distracted by the months-old Qatar crisis. Since last year Turkey’s role in facilitating Syrian Arab Army (SAA) gains in Aleppo and elsewhere by negotiating ceasefires with Russia has also highlighted Ankara’s shift away from its regime change agenda in Syria.

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