Turkish and Syrian defense ministers may meet in mid-February

A meeting of Turkish and Syrian defense ministers could take place in mid-February, reported newspaper Yeni Akit with reference to the official representative of the Turkish President Ibrahim Kalin.

According to Kalyn, this issue is on the agenda. Referring to the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the YPG, designated as terrorist in Turkey, inside the Syrian borders, Kalın said that Turkey wants security on its borders. “We will never target the Syrian state or the Syrian civilian population,” he said.

December 31, 2022 Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reportedthat Ankara agreed to withdraw troops from northern Syria after a trilateral meeting of the heads of the defense ministries of Russia, Syria and Turkey. This meeting took place On December 28 in Moscow, at the same time, negotiations were held between the heads of intelligence of these countries. The Russian Defense Ministry called the meeting constructive and stressed the need for further interaction in this format for the Syrian settlement.

January 13, 2023 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declaredthat Russia and the United States have not fulfilled their obligations to withdraw Kurdish forces from a number of areas in Syria. According to him, the US continues to support the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the People’s Self-Defense Forces.

In 2019, Russia and Turkey agreed on the withdrawal of Kurdish formations from the border areas, as well as joint patrols in this zone. The areas adjacent to the zone inhabited by Kurds de jure came under the control of the Moscow-allied Syrian government in Damascus, in a number of important points for the first time since 2012, units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) appeared, but in fact control over the situation has since been carried out by the military police of Russia.