Turkish MFA: Syria Itself Must Decide on Relations with Russia

Turkish authorities believe that the Syrian government itself should decide how to build its relations with Russia, including on the issue of the Russian military presence in the country. Sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told "Kommersant" about this, answering a question about Ankara's position.

Turkish diplomats stressed that Ankara is in favor of "sovereign and equal bilateral relations between the Syrian government and any third country, based on mutual respect and consideration of interests." They added: "The Syrian government itself decides how to approach bilateral relations with the Russian Federation and how to build them."

The Foreign Ministry also stated that "Turkey is pursuing an active policy to develop cooperation between the Syrian government and the international community to ensure continued support for national efforts to establish stability and security."

This statement followed negotiations between the presidents of Russia and Syria, Vladimir Putin and Ahmed al-Sharaa, during which, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the issue of maintaining Russian military bases in Syria was discussed. However, the Kremlin did not provide specific details.

It is noteworthy that back in the spring, the president of the transitional period in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had announced that the Syrian authorities were negotiating with Russia and Turkey on new agreements regarding military presence. On August 13, Ankara and Damascus had already signed a military agreement concerning the training of servicemen of the new Syrian army and the transfer of modern military equipment to the transitional government.

Earlier it became known that Damascus had shown interest in the resumption of patrolling by the Russian military police in the southern provinces of Syria, as was the case until December 8, 2024, the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. According to the source, the transitional government believes that such a step could limit Israel's military activity, which has occupied a significant part of Syria's southern regions since December 2024.