Turkey does not mind direct meetings with the Syrian government – Analysts
North-Press Agency
Turkish political analyst Cevat Gök, and Syrian political analyst Samer Khulaiwi have made special statements to North-Press regarding the security meetings between Syrian and Turkish intelligence recently, and the nature and conditions of negotiations between the two parties in the future.
In this context, Cevat Gök said: "Negotiations between Turkish and Syrian intelligence are an acceptable matter as no one is surprised about and all parties in Turkey welcome them, even the Turkish opposition insists that such meetings should take place at high levels."
"As a result, the Syrian army and the Turkish army have become contiguous after the recent developments, most markedly at observation points in Idlib, and for this reason I suspect that, at the intelligence level at least, Turkey will continue negotiations with the Syrian side," he added.
On the other hand, the Syrian political analyst Samer Khulaiwi explained that Turkey is one of the countries interfering with the Syrian crisis and is working to achieve its interests by all available means, including direct intelligence meetings.
Regarding the terms of the Turkish government imposed by Turkey on the Syrian side, Cevat Gök said: "There are no conditions provided by Turkey to Damascus. There are only demands that Turkey is trying to achieve in northern Syria, amid the existing disputes between the two parties."
He continued: "But in general, Turkey requires no clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces, and not to target Turkish observation points in Idlib. These are the first two basic conditions, as I think that there are no other special conditions by Turkey as the security of the observation points is of most importance.”
While Khulaiwi said: "There are conditions for Turkey over the Syrian government, which is the Syrian need to adhere to the agreements Turkey signed with Russia, to stop the Syrian government’s violations in the de-escalation zones, to ensure Turkish border security with Russia's participation, and to curb the Kurdish armed forces and ensure that they do not target Turkish interests."
He added that the Syrian government is obliged to accept all the Turkish conditions, whatever they are, and it is in a position where it cannot impose conditions.
Turkish analyst Cevat Gök also noted that high-level visits and meetings are likely to take place between the Turkish and Syrian foreign ministries, as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavuşoglu has always stated that he could meet with the Syrian side.
He added in this regard: "I think that the Syrian government does not mind either. The Syrian and Turkish governments are suffering from the difficult current situation, and the recent progress of the Syrian Army contributes to conducting such meetings between the two sides."
As for Samer Khulaiwi, he said on his part: “Turkey has no problem in conducting such meetings for its own benefit. As for the Syrian government, it is not concerned about anything except the recognition of Turkey, and to remain in power.” He added, "I think that if Turkey recognized the Syrian government again, (Syrian President) al-Assad wouldn't mind providing Turkey with everything it required."