The front and the advances of the rebel offensive in the north of Syria They stopped this Monday in the face of Turkish insistence—a country that finances, arms and pays for the rebel militias—so that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Asadfinally sits down to negotiate with the opposition and Ankara.
“The regime of Damascus It has not fulfilled its obligation to reach an agreed resolution to the conflict, and the constant attacks against civilians have restarted the war. We have been warning about this for a long time. Damascus must reconcile with its people. It’s your lack of dialogue which has pushed the situation to reach this point,” the Turkish Foreign Minister said at a press conference this Monday, Hakan Fidan.
At his side was his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchiwhich this Monday has reached Ankarathe Turkish capital, after meeting with Assad this Sunday night in Damascus.
Neither of the two ministers spoke, during the press conference, of a more than probable exchange of communications between the Syrian and Turkish governments through the mediation of the Iranian minister.
“We have reached an agreement with my brother Fidan: we will organize a new meeting between Russia, Iran and Türkiyein what is known as the Astana Process” said Araghci in reference to the different conferences held by the leaders of the three countries to agree on an agreed end to the Syrian war.
Tehran y Moscow They are the two great allies of Damascus; Thanks to them Assad, on the verge of being overthrown in 2015, managed to keep his regime alive. “The insecurity and instability in Syria is a blow to the regional stability. Syria cannot once again become an international center of terrorist organizations“Araghchi said this Monday.
Constant bombings
In 2020, Türkiye, Iran and Russia managed to agree on a cease-fire in the opposition region of Idleb that froze the attacks and combats between the regime and the opposition, but did not stop the bombings of the Russian and Syrian aviation against the civilian population.
These attacks, with the opposition offensive launched last week, have intensified. More than two dozen civilians died this Monday in bombings by the Damascus regime and its allies against the city of Idlibaccording to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). These bombings have hit two hospitals of the region.
Thus, during the last week, the Syrian rebels and their main sponsor, Turkey, have managed to almost double their territorial control in northwest Syria and, more importantly, now dominate the country’s second largest city, Aleppo.
According to Turkish experts close to the Government of Recep Tayyip ErdoganAnkara seeks, with this offensive, to force Assad to sit down with the Turkish president and negotiate the return of the three million Syrian refugees who currently live in Türkiye.
“This Monday we discussed how to create stability in Syria – Araghchi told Fidan – and about how to ensure that Syrian refugees can return to their country.
