Turkey meets Syrian opposition to reopen crossing with government areas
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Turkey hosted on Tuesday a significant meeting for Syrian political and military opposition groups to address various issues, including the reopening of the Abu al-Zandin crossing in Aleppo in northwestern Syria.
Representatives from the Syrian Interim Government, the Syrian National Coalition, the Syrian Negotiation Committee, leaders of the Syrian National Army (SNA), and prominent tribal figures attended the meeting.
This meeting took place amid ongoing protests rejecting the reopening of Abu al-Zandin, a commercial crossing on the international M4 highway located in northern Aleppo.
The crossing separates the village of Abu al-Zandin from its surrounding areas controlled by the Syrian government forces.
The Interim Government stated that the discussions highlighted the crucial role of the crossing as a humanitarian and economic lifeline.
The statement stressed that reopening the crossing would improve the region’s economic and humanitarian conditions and is not related to any normalization efforts with the Syrian government.
Meanwhile, the semi-official newspaper al-Watan reported citing a source in the Syrian opposition that Turkey is committed to fulfilling its promises to Russia to reopening the crossing this month, ahead of an anticipated quadrilateral meeting between Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iran aimed at normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus.
The newspaper pointed out that Turkey can no longer delay the crossing’s opening to improve negotiation conditions for the upcoming meeting.
Moscow views the reopening of the crossing as a gesture of goodwill from Turkey toward Syria, potentially paving the way for normalization talks and addressing unresolved issues.