Baghdad to host Turkey-Syria meeting

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government is arranging a meeting between Turkey and Syria in Baghdad as part of efforts to normalize relations between the neighboring countries, Iraq’s foreign minister announced on Friday.

“Turkish and Syrian relations are complicated, and indeed there is communication between the Turkish and Syrian sides through Iraq. There is an Iraqi initiative to bring both parties together in Baghdad. There was continual communication at the leadership level between the Iraqi, Turkish and Syrian sides,” Fuad Hussein told Rudaw during a press conference in Washington. 

“There was a meeting with the foreign ministers of the two countries and it was agreed in principle to meet in Baghdad, but a date has not been set yet. When I return, a date will be set,” he added. 

Fadi al-Shammari, political advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, told Rudaw on Tuesday that Baghdad has wasted no opportunity to work as a mediator and that a rapprochement between Syria and Turkey is in the “direct” interest of Iraq. 

“Baghdad benefits from playing the role of mediator in several aspects, including enhancing regional stability, which reflects positively on the security and economic situation in Iraq,” he said. 

Relations between Ankara and Damascus turned bitter after the outbreak of war in Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister of Turkey, slammed Bashar al-Assad for committing violence against his own people. Erdogan demanded the removal of the Syrian president from power and labeled him a “terrorist.”

Turkey supported anti-Assad rebels in the early years of the civil war, especially in northwest Syria. However, when Russia intervened and President Vladimir Putin threw his support behind Assad, Erdogan began opposing the growing Kurdish dominance in northern Syria. 

Russia is also a mediator between Turkey and Syria.

Interview by Diyar Kurda