Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Syria opposition uneasy after Turkish outreach to al-Assad regime

Turkey says there is no change in its Syria policy after opposition groups urge Ankara to reaffirm support for them.

Syria’s political and armed opposition have urged their decade-long backer Turkey to reaffirm its support for their cause after the highest-level talks between Ankara and the Damascus governments since the Syrian war began in 2011.

Turkey has provided support and a base for political opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s government while training and fighting alongside rebels against his troops. Ankara has also sheltered millions of Syrian refugees who fled al-Assad’s forces.

The Turkish and Syrian defence ministers met in Moscow on December 28 with the topics of migration and Kurdish fighters based on Syria’s border with Turkey on the agenda, according to a Turkish official.

That has caused unease within the Syrian opposition.

The head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has fought against al-Assad’s forces, said in a video address released on Monday that talks between Syria, Russia and Turkey were a “dangerous deviation”.

Ahrar al-Sham, another armed group, said that while it “understood the situation of our Turkish ally”, it “cannot even think of reconciling” with the Syrian government.

Ankara sought to reassure the opposition with Defence Minister Hulusi Akar saying Turkey would not take any steps that would cause problems for them.

“They should not take any different attitudes by relying on any provocation or false news,” Akar said on Wednesday.

The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition umbrella organisation, met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday. He assured it of Turkey’s continued support “to Syrian opposition institutions and Syrians in the opposition-held areas”, said Abdurrahman Mustafa, the head of the Turkey-backed opposition’s provisional government.




‘Turkey determines its own policy’


Turkey’s talks with Syrian officials in Moscow mainly focused on the fight in northeastern Syria against the People’s Defence Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia in Syria, Mustafa reported Cavusoglu as saying.

A senior Turkish official told the Reuters news agency it had seen the reactions of rebel factions to the meeting but “Turkey determines its own policy.”

“It is unrealistic to expect an immediate result from the first meeting of ministers,” the official said.

He also said Ankara asked Damascus in last week’s talks in Moscow to recognise the YPG as a “terrorist” organisation.

Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a “terrorist” organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Turkish-Syrian rapprochement seemed unthinkable earlier in the conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, drawn in numerous foreign powers and splintered Syria into various zones of influence.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called al-Assad a “terrorist” and said there could be no peace in Syria with him in office while al-Assad has called Erdogan a thief for “stealing” Syrian land.

But meetings between the two countries’ security chiefs last year paved the way for the defence ministers to meet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
×