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Alsharq Tribune- Gina Issa
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack held talks on Tuesday on the latest developments in Syria a year after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
They discussed the measures needed to establish stability in Syria and maintain its territorial integrity.
Turkish sources said the meeting focus primarily on the implementation of the agreement between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Abdi Mazloum on the merger of the Kurdish forces in the Syrian army.
The agreement was signed in Damascus in March and should have been completed by December.
Fidan and Barrack also tackled the Israeli violations and attacks against Syria and their “negative impact on its stability and unity.”
They discussed sanctions on Syria and the support for political steps during the country’s transition, added the sources. Fidan had on Saturday accused Israel of “encouraging” the SDF to renege on the March agreement.
In a televised interview, he warned that the developments in southern Syria were the “greatest danger.” He explained that the problem isn’t in the extent of the developments, but in how Israel has intervened in them.
The danger in Syria could impact Türkiye, he added. He stressed the need for the SDF to fulfill its commitments to the March agreement and to dissolve itself and for its foreign fighters to leave Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned on Tuesday the Israeli violations in Syria, saying they were the “greatest obstacle” to the country’s security and stability at the time and for the long-term. Speaking before ambassadors to Türkiye, he vowed that Ankara will continue to support Damascus “as it has always done”.
He echoed Fidan’s demand on the SDF to commit to the March agreement, saying any delay will lead to a new crisis in Syria.
He also slammed the international silence over the “massacres that were committed in Syria” during its 13 years of civil war. Throughout those years, “except for a few with a real conscience, we didn’t hear anything from the supporters of democracy and defenders of human rights,” he added.
