Resumption of conflict in Syria due to 13 years of ‘unresolved’ issues: Turkish FM

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that recent developments in Syria cannot be attributed solely to external intervention, but they stem from “unresolved” problems over the past 13 years.

Speaking at a news conference alongside his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, who is on an official visit to Türkiye, Fidan said that it was a “mistake” by the Syrian regime to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition and to fail to engage in the political process.

“The reason for the resumption of large-scale conflict in Syria is that the country’s interconnected problems have remained unresolved for more than 13 years,” said Fidan.

Fidan said the recent developments once again demonstrated that the Syrian regime must reconcile with its own people and legitimate opposition.

Emphasizing that Ankara is ready to contribute to this goal, Fidan stated that Türkiye does not wish to see further escalation in Syria’s civil war, which has been going on since 2011.

Stressing that the Astana Process on Syria ensured the cessation of “hot and intense” clashes in the field, he said: “Thus, we aimed to advance the regime’s political engagement with the opposition.”

Underlining that Türkiye will continue its coordination with Iran, one of the guarantors of the Astana Process, Fidan said: “We have always supported the protection of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity. We will support it from now on as well.”

The Astana format talks were launched in 2017 under the guarantors Türkiye, Russia, and Iran to resolve the Syrian civil war.

Clashes broke out on November 27 between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups in the western countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, marking a re-escalation of the fighting after a period of relative calm.