Turkish Army tanks manoeuvre during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 25, 2017 © Umit Bektas / Reuters
Ankara and Damascus are in talks over the security situation in Syria’s northeastern region, the Sputnik news agency reported on December 16.
The region is split between Turkish forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed in the US-led coalition. Russian and Syrian government forces are also present in the region.
Major Haidara Jawad of the Syrian Arab Army, who has been representing Damascus in the talks, told Sputniks that their main goal is to re-activate the Adana Agreement.
Turkey and Syria signed the Adana agreement in 1998 when the two countries were on the brink of war. Under the agreement, Damascus committed to prevent terror activities against Turkey. The agreement also included terms on cooperation in the fight against terrorism and establishing a monitoring committee.
“The talks’ key points are the area east of the Euphrates, the Turkish military presence, the areas under the control of the SDF and the international coalition, in addition to revitalizing the Adana Agreement between Syria and Turkey, which allows the Turkish military to enter 35 kilometers deep into Syrian territory in the event of any threat to Turkish national security,” Maj. Jawad said.
The officer went on to say that much progress was made during the talks and that he “hopes that a solution will be reached.”
Just a few months ago, several reports revealed that the Turkish military and its proxies were preparing to launch a new military operation against the SDF in northern and northeastern Syria. Russian and Syrian government forces responded by boosting their military presence in the two regains.
The ongoing talks indicate that both Ankara and Damascus are willing to make concessions in order to reach a new understanding on the security situation in the northeastern region. Any agreement between the two will not likely be in favor of the SDF.
No surprise here. As of today Turkey officially lost control of their currency. Total collapse of their Lira is near and with it the collapse of the whole economy. People already suggesting Erdogan will not survive this politically. They might be right on that. With further huge fall of the currency in the recent days he is loosing his support among the people. Turkey now is hammering out a deal with Damascus to save face and get the hell out of Syria. It won’t be a surprise, if the army and his proxies leave on their own soon. Turkey overplayed their hand and Russia and Syria knew that already calling Erdogan’s bluff of a military operation.
Don’t push your luck …
I wrote that many times here before. Turkey is done due to the financial and economical situation at home. This has nothing to do with luck. Facts are facts. Now Turkey is even very eager to talk to Damascus. Things are getting serious for Erdogan. Looks like someone else is “pushing his luck” here to me :-)
I’m not against the Turkish government talking the Syrian government we are neighbours we mustn’t allow outside idiot to tell us how to run our country. Yes both sides make mistake .assad family was supporter of PKK against TURKIYE. This is one of the reason Turkey cross the border to protect our borders and stop Kurdish creating their own country dividend Syria .. mustn’t forget no Russia or Iran helping assad for nothing ….
Stealing Syrian oil and supporting terrorist groups is not exactly how you protect your borders. Erdogan simply tried to play with the big-boys and now he’s getting his ass kicked for it. Everything else is just an “official” excuse. PKK is threatening Erdogans power grab, so he’s hunting them down. Happens in every country. The opposition is always the ennemy to the ones in power. How much they crush them tells you how much of a real threat the are.
I hope so, but I doubt the Sultan will ever willingly let go of his conquests. The prick will probably just double-down on his failed policies.
That is in fact a very good question. We will have to wait an see how this will unfold. Erdogan clearly wanted to be one of the big-boys meddling in international and geopolitical interests. But he probably did not count in his county’s exposure to the global powers he so desperately wanted to be part of. But the fact that he is pushing his people into poverty denying them the possibility to invest in hard assets shows us already that he will do it the hard way. He may lose his support among his people, but as long as the military, the police and other branches of his government stay on his side, this will end in yet another totalitarian regime. And we have many of those now in power across the mostly so called “western” world.
Interesting, your point about the collapse of the Turkish Lira is spot on. I do remember reading of mass protests in Turkey of late. The Turkish people are getting fed up with Erdogan and his ruling party. And of course, there are the brawls in the Turkish parliament as well. I hope you are right, and diplomacy prevails. That would be a huge relief to see Turkey withdraw from Syria. The Turkish economy can’t support Erdogan’s ridiculous Neo Ottoman Empire dreams. In one article, I think it said the cost of food in Turkey is astronomical. If people can’t eat, they will begin protesting, eventually turning into riots. Erdogan is a thug though, so he may just respond with force, the hallmark of all dictators. Interesting times to be living in.
Whole world in same situation at the moment not just Turkey.. do not worry Turkish people will survive
Which countries do you mean? Turkish Lira lost about 50% of its previous value this year only.
Even America and england most of euro country getting ready to declare themselves bankrupt anyway . Half of them bankrupt already long time ago . Rest is no need to count wake up and smell the coffee
You are right, they all bankrupt already with the amount of debt they amassed over the years. But in the end it is Turkey that has lost most in this ponzi scheme, as their currency plunged to almost nothing putting the economy and the population into a financial hell. Right now it is Turkey that is on the brink of a total financial collapse, not the other way around. The facts are everywhere. The IMF is right around the corner to use that opportunity to take over Turkish politics by “bailing” them out. Erdogan was not playing by their rules, now they show him who’s the boss. Everyone can see that this is not about economics. No one is “getting ready” to declare themselves bankrupt. That is absolute nonsense on our part . Why should they? Turkey is already portrayed be the media as in big trouble. Especially Erdogan is the one that they blame for that. Guess what, that was the whole agenda here from the beginning. How you not see this is simply beyond me :-) But you are free to believe whatever makes you happy. Facts will remain facts.
The problem is, that the government is also actively hindering people to save themselves by investing their money and buying hard assets. This way they openly declared war on their own people. They practically force them to accept being pushed into poverty with no chance to get out by themselves. People in the military especially loose their morale, if their pay gets unattractive to them. Why risk your life for cheap money?