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Syrian Peace Process

Syrian Peace Process
Can EU be part of the solution for refugee crisis?

| Opinion
The March 5 agreement between Turkey and Russia put an end to the military confrontation …
  • Migrants gather in a field at the Maritsa river near Edirne, at the Turkish-Greek border, March 3, 2020. (AP Photo)
    Opinion

    Turkey has been the main supporter of the Syrian opposition fighting the Bashar Assad regime. Ankara has also diligently protected innocent Syrian civilians living in the Idlib region. It has stood against the atrocities, the Assad regime attacks and the regime's main backers Russia and Iran. On one hand, Turkey has mobilized its deterrent military power in the region against the regime’s future attacks; on the other hand, Turkish officials and civil institutions initiated a campaign to provide food and shelter for civilians. Western countries have been reluctant to get involved in the humanitarian tragedy and security problem in the region.
  • Syrian men ride their motorcycles through a damaged neighborhood in the town of Binnish, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province near the Turkish border, following a Russia-Turkey cease-fire deal, March 6, 2020. (AFP Photo)
    Opinion

    After a six-hour meeting between leaders and technical committees, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart announced a cease-fire for Syria's Idlib. During the meeting at the Kremlin, the presidents gave short speeches. The whole world followed the process as the decisions could trigger an escalation in violence while intensifying the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria. Turkey and Russia both wanted to end the civil war but were unwilling to concede their positions. For both Turkey and Russia, bilateral relations were at stake as well.
  • The Sick Man EU 2020
    Opinion

    Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey has faced the gravest problems in the region regarding security, economics and refugees. That picture has not changed. At every turn, a new wave of issues knocks on Turkey’s door. That Europe and the U.S. have not taken initiatives required for a political transition in Syria is a major factor in this. Another leading cause is Russia’s desire to solve the crisis through military force. From the outset, Russia has deployed a course of destruction called the 'Grozny model." It is a policy consisting of three stages: besiege, destroy and rule. Russia has implemented this formula in many areas, particularly in Aleppo, which has wreaked extensive destruction and killed thousands of civilians.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin greet each other prior to their talks on Idlib, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo)

    President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Moscow this week to hold talks on the Idlib crisis. The world closely followed his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. All experts were sure that this would be the tensest meeting between the two leaders since the 2015 jet incident.

  • Turkey

    For days, both Syrian public opinion and the world have been discussing the question of “What is Turkey doing in Idlib, Syria?” If you are really curious about this question, you must have been born after 2015. Turkey has intervened in northern Syria for both humanitarian and security reasons due to a number of problems, such as nearly 4 million refugees coming to the country during the nine-year war, instability spreading from Syria and dozens of people killed in missile strikes on Turkish soil, which were launched from across the Syrian border.

  • Forces of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime violated the latest ceasefire agreement between Turkey and Russia 10 minutes after it was implemented. Anadolu Agency correspondents said that by the end of the first day of the ceasefire, regime forces had violated the agreement 15 times. The regime, which continued the violations Saturday and Sunday, engaged in harassment fire with a machine gun on a Turkish military convoy transporting supplies. Elements of the regime also fired three mortar shells near another unit. Harassment fire overnight by regime artillery in villages in Syria’s Idlib province continued for about an hour. Yesterday, regime forces were determined to advance to points in Kafr Nabl village, a buffer zone south of Idlib, with two tanks, two armored personnel carriers and many militia convoys. Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on March 1 after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred in late February in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib. Under a 2018 deal with Russia, Turkish troops were in Idlib to protect civilians from attacks by the regime and its allies. On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in Moscow to a new ceasefire in Idlib. (AA,March 9, 2020)

    The Idlib crisis reached another turning point after the signing of the Turkish-Russian agreement last week during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Moscow. Reports indicated that the challenging process of negotiations carried on for more than six hours. The end result of the negotiations generated a lot of debates regarding its provisions and the potential roadblocks in its implementation.

  • An internally displaced Syrian girl stands in a makeshift camp located in Idlib, Syria, Feb. 27, 2020. (REUTERS Photo)

    It is distressing to witness the lack of European concern about the humanitarian disaster in Idlib and how Turkey has been abandoned in its fight for civilian safety

  • Placards that contain anti-Russia, -Assad and -Iran slogans are attached on security barriers outside the Russian Consulate following a protest against the killing of Turkish soldiers in Syria's Idlib region, Istanbul, Feb. 29, 2020. (REUTERS Photo)

    Turkey's sole wish in Idlib is to maintain domestic and regional stability. This is what all involved actors must be aware of first.

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