The reasons behind the thawing of ties between Ankara and Damascus

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Children play outside tents at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Syria’s northern Aleppo province. The refugees face an uncertain future. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 30 June 2024
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The reasons behind the thawing of ties between Ankara and Damascus

  • Gaza war creates new regional dynamics for Assad regime, necessitates closer relations with Turkiye, says expert
  • Erdogan signals possible policy shift as Turkiye considers rapprochement with Syria

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled a possible restoration of relations with Syria’s Assad regime in a surprising move that marks a significant departure from years of hostility between the two nations.

Erdogan’s comments, which were made after Friday prayers, suggest a willingness to revive diplomatic ties with Damascus, emphasizing historical precedent and family ties as potential foundations for future engagement.

“There is no reason why it should not happen,” Erdogan said.

“Just as we kept our relations very lively in the past, we even had talks between our families with Assad. It is certainly not possible to say that this will not happen in the future. It can happen; the Syrian people are our brothers.”

The Turkish leader’s comments echo similar sentiments recently expressed by Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has indicated his willingness to pursue steps toward normalization, provided they respect Syria’s sovereignty and contribute to counter-terrorism efforts.

The remarks came during a meeting with Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Syria.

The concurrent statements are seen as part of a broader effort to reconcile Ankara and Damascus, but the path to rapprochement remains fraught with uncertainty and complexity.

Erdogan, then prime minister of Turkiye, hosted Assad in 2009 for a family holiday in the Aegean resort of Bodrum, and they enjoyed amicable visits to nurture their friendship.

But since severing all ties with the Assad regime in 2011, Turkiye has been a vocal supporter of his opponents in Syria and called for the ousting of Assad from power.

Ankara’s involvement has escalated with several cross-border military operations and the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria, in which Turkish troops are stationed.

The Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers met in Moscow last year, marking the highest-level contact between the two countries since the start of the Syrian Civil War.

But the talks, along with an earlier meeting between the two countries’ defense ministers, did not bring about any change in bilateral relations.

Oytun Orhan, coordinator of Levant studies at the Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, says there is a glimmer of hope for a resumption of the dialogue process.

He told Arab News: “There have been some developments in recent weeks. It is said that Turkish and Syrian officials could meet in Baghdad with the mediation of Iraq, and surprising developments in Turkish-Syrian relations are expected in the coming period.”

Efforts were being made to bring the parties together, he added.

Orhan believes that with Russia’s softening position in Ukraine, the Kremlin has begun to pay more attention to Turkish-Syrian relations, and the Gaza conflict also requires new regional dynamics and presents new security challenges for the Assad regime, which necessitates closer Turkish-Syrian relations.

He said: “Discussions about a possible US withdrawal after the upcoming presidential elections are another factor to consider.”

The Assad regime has recently been in talks with the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units and “is trying to corner Turkiye by signaling that it could reach an agreement with the YPG if Turkiye does not accept its conditions, while at the same time opening channels with Turkiye,” he added.

Ankara considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group closely linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been waging a decades-long insurgency in southeast Turkiye.

Experts say that both parties are trying to consolidate their positions in line with regional changes and consider their red lines for domestic security concerns.

But Orhan does not expect Turkish troops to withdraw in the short term, and added: “First, there may be an agreement between the parties on how to deal with the YPG.

“At that point Turkiye may have to take some steps regarding its relationship with the opposition. However, there will not be a situation where the Syrian opposition is completely abandoned or its support is cut off. A gradual road map can be agreed.”

Orhan expects that a mechanism of guarantees involving Russia or even Iran could be agreed upon for a road map for withdrawal from Syria.

He said: “Gradual steps will be taken based on criteria such as the complete elimination of the PKK/YPG threat and the creation of conditions for the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country.

“A common will against the PKK is not very likely at this stage because the Syrian regime still wants to use the YPG as a trump card against Turkiye. It believes that after a possible US withdrawal, it can reach an agreement with the YPG and solve this problem with minor concessions.”

Experts believe a partnership between Ankara and Damascus, like the one between Iraq and Turkiye, is unlikely at the moment.

But Orhan believes common ground can be found in the fight against the PKK, depending on the gradual steps taken by Turkiye.

He said: “Instead of a joint military operation, Turkiye’s continued military moves against the YPG, followed by an agreement on areas that Syrian regime forces can retake and control, can be agreed upon.”

Turkiye currently hosts 3.1 million Syrian refugees, according to official figures. One of Ankara’s expectations from a possible rapprochement between Turkiye and Syria would be the safe return of these refugees to their homeland.

Orhan said: “The return of Syrian refugees can only be possible after a lasting solution in Syria.

“It is a long-term, difficult problem to solve. From the Assad regime’s point of view, it sees this as a bargaining chip and a burden on Turkiye’s shoulders.”

He added that the return of Syrian refugees was also seen as providing a risk factor for the Assad regime.

The refugees are seen as “people who fled the country, and it is questionable how willing Assad is to repatriate them,” said Orhan.

Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and current chairman of the Istanbul-based think tank EDAM, has spoken of the profound shifts in regional security dynamics in the wake of the war in Gaza and amid uncertainties surrounding US policy in the Middle East, particularly in Syria.

He told Arab News: “For Syria, which now faces an even more unpredictable security environment, this forces the Syrian leadership to reassess its position for negotiations with Turkiye in response to the evolving geopolitical realities.”

Ulgen believes that from Turkiye’s point of view, this represents a potentially favorable opportunity, provided that Syria is willing to reconsider the terms of engagement that have so far prevented meaningful dialogue.

He added: “Until now, these conditions have been a major obstacle to starting a substantive negotiation process.”

Ulgen said that Syria’s willingness to revise these conditions will be crucial in determining whether formal negotiations can begin.

He added: “The critical question now is whether Damascus will stick to its preconditions, some of which may prove untenable, such as the demand for an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from border areas.”

Progress in reconciliation efforts would depend on the lifting of such conditions, Ulgen said.

 

 


UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza

Updated 27 July 2025
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UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza

  • OCHA says UN teams in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory ‘as soon as they are allowed to do so’
  • OCHA notes constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians’ ability to respond

GENEVA: The United Nations’ aid chief welcomed Israel’s announcement Sunday of secure land routes into Gaza for humanitarian convoys, and said the UN would try to reach as many starving people as possible.

“Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,” UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X.

“In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.”

Fletcher’s UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Friday that conditions on the ground in Gaza were “already catastrophic and deteriorating fast.”

“The starvation crisis is deepening,” it said, warning that hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses, and adding that the consequences can quickly “turn deadly.”

It said that “the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.”

OCHA said UN teams were in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory “as soon as they are allowed to do so.”

“If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, the UN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials,” it said.

OCHA said constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians’ ability to respond.

It said that on Thursday, for example, out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, four were “outright denied,” with another three impeded.

One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled, meaning only five missions went ahead.

On Friday OCHA issued an aid delivery plan in the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

Updated 27 July 2025
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Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

  • Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis

JERUSALEM: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week.
“We have lost three young heroes — some of our finest — who gave their lives for the security of our state and the return of all our hostages,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X.
The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade’s 51st Battalion.
Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis.
Military correspondents from several Israeli media outlets said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device detonated by a militant who emerged from a tunnel.
An investigation was underway.
The Israeli military says 462 soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27, 2023.
Israel launched its Gaza military campaign after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.


Activist boat Handala seized off Gaza brought to Israel

Updated 49 min 52 sec ago
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Activist boat Handala seized off Gaza brought to Israel

  • The ship’s interception comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza

Israeli forces brought the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala into the port of Ashdod on Sunday, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew, an AFP journalist saw.
Campaigners from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to breach an Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza, but were intercepted late Saturday.
The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had demanded to speak to the 21-strong international crew, which includes two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists.
"Israeli forces intercepted the Handala in international waters at around midnight on 27 July 2025 and contact with the activists was lost. This peaceful civilian mission was dedicated to the children of Gaza," the group said.
"This ship, which sailed as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is part of the coalition's ongoing efforts to break Israel's illegal and deadly blockade on the Palestinian people in Gaza."
Earlier, the Israeli foreign ministry said the Israeli navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza.
"The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe," it said.
Just before midnight local time on Saturday, video live stream broadcast from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza.
The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents.
The Handala's crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.
On board were activists from 10 countries, including two French MPs form the left-wing France Unbowed party, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala.
A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod.
It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.


Israel declares Gaza fighting pause amid deepening hunger crisis

Updated 27 July 2025
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Israel declares Gaza fighting pause amid deepening hunger crisis

  • The military’s statement did not say when the humanitarian corridors for UN convoys would open, or where
  • It also said the military is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.

The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and angrily rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians.

In a statement, the army said it coordinated its decisions with the UN and international organizations to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.”

There was no immediate official response from the UN or non-governmental aid agencies operating in Gaza, and privately skeptical humanitarian sources said they were waiting to see the results on the ground of the Israeli announcement.

The pause in fighting would be limited to areas where the military says Israeli troops are not currently operating — Al-Mawasi, Deir El-Balah and Gaza City — and last from 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) until 8:00 p.m. every day.

But the Israeli statement added that “designated secure routes” had been opened across all of Gaza to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organization convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine.

The Israeli military said these operations, alongside its ongoing campaign against Palestinian armed groups, should disprove “the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.

Before Israel announced the airborne delivery of seven pallets of food, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them.

On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defense agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centers.

“We ask God and our Arab brothers to work harder to reach a ceasefire before we all die,” Gaza resident Hossam Sobh said, adding that he had feared death as he recovered a bag of flour under the nose of an Israeli tank.

Also on Saturday, Israeli troops boarded a boat carrying activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea to challenge a naval blockade.

Israeli forces brought the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala into the port of Ashdod on Sunday, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew, an AFP journalist saw.

The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with more than 100 NGOs warning this week that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza.

On Telegram, the Israeli military announced it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.”

Humanitarian chiefs are deeply skeptical that air drops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants.

But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart air drops. The United Arab Emirates said it would resume air drops “immediately.”

A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.

“Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. “They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.”

Israel’s military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory.

But humanitarian organizations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.

A separate aid operation is under way through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

But it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.

On Saturday evening, the live feed on the Handala boat belonging to pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel.

The soldiers moved in as the boat approached Gaza and three video live feeds of the scene broadcasting online were cut minutes later.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.


Wildfires threaten Turkiye’s fourth-largest city as locals are evacuated

Updated 27 July 2025
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Wildfires threaten Turkiye’s fourth-largest city as locals are evacuated

  • Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye spread rapidly
  • Turkiye has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June

ISTANBUL: Wildfires that have engulfed Turkiye for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye spread rapidly, bringing a red glow to the night sky over the city’s eastern suburbs.

Bursa governor’s office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned.

Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as “an apocalypse.”

By morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to bring down the flames. However, TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier stood.

Turkiye has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli said fire crews across the country confronted 76 separate blazes Saturday.

The fires are being fueled by unseasonally high temperatures, dry conditions and string winds.

The General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkiye recorded its highest ever temperature, 50.5C (122.9F) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations, it added.

Yamukli said the country’s northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have burned since Tuesday.

Thirteen people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed Wednesday in a fire in Eskisehir in western Turkiye.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said late Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, adding that legal action had been taken against 97 suspects.

The severity of the fires led the government to declare two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on Friday.