Syrian, Turkish Intelligence Chiefs Held Series Of Meetings In Damascus – Report

Syria flag (flickr).

Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, has held a series of meetings with Ali Mamlouk, director of Syria’s National Security Bureau, in Damascus, Reuters reported on September 15.

A regional source aligned with Damascus told the news agency that the most recent meeting between the Turkish and Syrian intelligence chiefs took place earlier this week.

Ankara broke ties with Damascus in the very first year of the Syrian war. Soon after, it rose to become the main political and military backer of Syrian rebels. Today, the Turkish military occupies vast parts of the war-torn country’s northern and northeastern regions.

Fidan and Mamlouk met on several occasions in Russia over the last few years. However, the recent series of meetings is unprecedented.

According to a senior Turkish official and a Turkish security source, Fidan and Mamlouk evaluated during their recent meetings how the two countries’ foreign ministers could eventually meet.

“Russia wants Syria and Turkey to overcome their problems and achieve certain agreements … which are in the interest of everyone, both Turkey and Syria,” said the Turkish official.

The unnamed official revealed that Turkey wants to eventually include Syrian rebels in the talks with Damascus. This will not likely be welcomed by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, who appears to be only interested in a settlement with the Turkish state.

Two regional sources supportive of Damascus told Reuters that the Turkish-Syrian contacts had made a lot of progress, while a third source said Turkish-Syrian relations had begun to thaw and were advancing to a stage of “creating a climate for understanding”.

Earlier this week, a report by Russia’s Sputnik news agency revealed that Turkey has asked the leadership of the Syrian opposition to leave its territory before the end of the year. Head of the Syrian Opposition Coalition refuted these claims. Nevertheless, Ankara has not commented on the report, yet.

The attempt to restore relations between Turkey and Syria is being led by Russia, according to Reuters. The agency’s sources said that Moscow believes that a rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus will help secure its position in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposed restoring relations with Assad for years. Now however, instability in Syria is seen as a major threat in Turkey.

The growing influence of Kurdish forces in Syria’s northern and northeastern region and the issue of Syrian refugees in Syria are currently Turkey’s main security concerns. Erdogan is likely attempting to fix both issues by restoring ties with Damascus before the Turkish elections next year.

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