Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition

Special Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
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The participation of Syria follows its readmission into the pan-Arab body earlier this month and amid broader Saudi-led efforts to repair relations between Syria and other Arab countries. (Supplied)
Special Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
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Syria's President Bashar Assad, 4th from left, joins other Arab leaders in a photo session at the close of the Arab League summit in Jeddah on May 19, 2023. (SPA)
Special Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
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Syria's President Bashar Assad is seen on screen as he speaks during the Arab League summit in Jeddah on May 19, 2023. (Al Ekhbariya TV via REUTERS)
Special Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
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A laborer works at a factory to recycle war remnants and scrap metal near the rebel-held Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey on January 25, 2023. (AFP)
Special Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
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Syrian President Bashar Assad holds talks with Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the sidelines of the summit in Jeddah on Friday. (SPA)
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Updated 21 May 2023

Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition

Why Syria’s return to Arab fold is seen as a win-win proposition
  • Ending of isolation chimes with Saudi Arabia’s push for region’s stability and economic growth, analysts say
  • Move could facilitate the beginning of much-needed reconstruction and renewed trade

IRBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan: Thirteen years after President Bashar Assad attended a major Arab League meeting, a Syrian delegation led by him has taken part in the 32nd summit, this time in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Assad’s participation in Friday’s summit follows Syria’s readmission into the pan-Arab body earlier this month and amid broader Saudi-led efforts to repair relations between Damascus and other Arab countries.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud struck a distinctly conciliatory tone in his address on Wednesday to participants in a preparatory meeting for the summit. “We welcome the return of Syria to the Arab League,” he said while stressing the need for devising new mechanisms to deal with “the challenges facing us.”

The Kingdom is playing a critical role in Syria’s return to the Arab fold, which began with the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country in the aftermath of the devastating Feb. 6 Turkiye-Syria earthquakes. 

Saudi Arabia and Syria intend to resume work at their respective diplomatic relations and resume flights. While Saudi Arabia, which cut ties with the Assad government in 2012, is not the first Arab country to re-establish relations with Syria, it is spearheading the current diplomatic drive, which many analysts believe has the potential to produce significant outcomes.

“I think Saudi Arabia played the role of ‘normalizing’ normalization,” Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told Arab News. “Countries such as Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain were already pushing for normalization, but they all seemed like outliers without Saudi support.

FASTFACTS

Syrian President Bashar Assad received an invitation to the Arab League summit in Jeddah.

The invitation from King Salman was delivered by Saudi diplomat Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi.

The invitation came 12 years after Syria’s Arab League membership was suspended.

“As the biggest Gulf Arab state with tremendous political and economic clout in the region, Riyadh’s blessing on normalization helped accelerate the trend,” he said. “In terms of benefits, most of them are long-term. In the immediate term, Saudi Arabia benefits from the appearance of being a peacemaker resolving issues through diplomacy.”

In the “longer run,” Bohl expects the Kingdom to help kickstart Syria’s reconstruction and “play a major role in rebuilding the country and potentially building up influence there.”




Syrian President Bashar Assad meeting in Damascus with Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Jordan, Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairy ahead of the recently concluded Arab Summit in Jeddah. (Syrian Presidency Telegram Page / AFP)

For Syria, the combination of diplomatic normalization and regional rehabilitation puts it on the “path of potentially gaining some sort of new economic ties with the outside world” that could facilitate the beginning of much-needed reconstruction and renewed trade.

The Arab League had suspended Syria in November 2011 over the Assad government’s crackdown on protests which began earlier that year and which morphed into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country’s infrastructure and industry.

“The Saudi role has been key to Syria’s return to the bosom of the Arab world,” Joshua Landis, director of both the Center of Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Arabian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Arab News.

Saudi Arabia’s push for stability and economic growth in the Middle East will help bring to fruition Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision of “turning the Kingdom into a business and tourist hub” for the region.

“Syria’s rebuilding is key to building a better region that is more stable and prosperous,” he said.

Landis believes the Syrian move will advance the goal of “cementing Saudi Arabia’s role as the leader of the Arabs and the larger Middle East.”

“Now that the Saudi leadership has come to an understanding with Iran, there is no reason not to do the same in Yemen and Syria,” Landis said. “It is a win for Saudi Arabia.”

Both analysts view the Jeddah summit of the pan-Arab body as a potentially consequential one. “I think it will be one of several events that will be significant,” Bohl of RANE said. “At this point, it’s just a degree of how much more normalized Syria can get among its former adversaries. The next big breakthrough would be somehow getting past the US sanctions regime.”

For his part, Landis described the event as significant “even though the Arab League has been known for its insignificance.”

Syria’s normalization with a majority of Middle Eastern states could also help to improve the domestic humanitarian situation and even restore a degree of stability not seen in over a decade.




A girl walks near tents at Atmah Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp, in rebel-held town of Afrin, Syria May 19, 2023. (REUTERS)

“Normalization will ease humanitarian aid for places affected by the February earthquakes and in rebel-held territory,” Bohl said. “It could speed along some of the reconciliation agreements necessary to see a peaceful end to the civil war by encouraging rebel groups to engage in concessions to Damascus. It might also signal to Washington that its mission in Syria needs to be better defined and given a time limit.”

Nevertheless, both analysts concede that significant challenges and obstacles remain. The US remains opposed to lifting its sanctions on Syria. Landis describes those sanctions as the “great barrier” to rebuilding Syria.

“Arab countries will now have to decide how they want to chip away at Western sanctions and defy the West’s efforts to maintain a strict boycott of Syria,” he said.




Men wait for customers at a market in Syria's northern city of Raqqa on December 23, 2022, amid soaring inflation and ongoing economic crisis. (AFP)

Readmission into the Arab League is the first step toward stabilizing Syria and jumpstarting its economy, which has been severely paralyzed by over a decade of civil war and sanctions. Landis summed up the process as a “humble beginning.”

“The real challenge for the Arab League and Saudi diplomacy will be whether it can get the West to loosen sanctions and help facilitate the return of trade, the restoration of Syria’s energy sector and electric grid,” he said. 

“Until that happens, Syrians will continue to live in misery and privation.”

 


Sudanese displaced by violence find sanctuary in Al-Jazirah state — for now

Sudanese displaced by violence find sanctuary in Al-Jazirah state — for now
Updated 7 min 36 sec ago

Sudanese displaced by violence find sanctuary in Al-Jazirah state — for now

Sudanese displaced by violence find sanctuary in Al-Jazirah state — for now
  • Al-Jazirah has thus far received the largest number of displaced people from war-stricken capital Khartoum
  • The state faces a scarcity of commodities that are normally distributed from Khartoum to outlying areas

WAD MADANI, Sudan: Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Sudan have been displaced since the confrontation between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began six weeks ago, with the vast majority of them choosing to remain within the nation’s borders.

One state, Al-Jazirah, situated just a three-hour drive southeast of Khartoum, has so far received the largest share of people fleeing the war-stricken Sudanese capital, becoming something of a microcosm of the wider displacement crisis.

While those fleeing to Al-Jazirah have been spared the difficult journey over bridges, waterways and international borders to reach safety, many have faced new struggles upon arrival in displacement camps, with limited access to healthcare, shelter and food.

Given the swelling ranks of displaced, Al-Jazirah faces mounting shortages of medicine, fuel and food — commodities that under normal circumstances would be distributed from Khartoum to Sudan’s various outlying states.

Smoke billows in southern Khartoum amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals in Sudan on May 6, 2023. (AFP)

Asaad Al-Sir Mohammed, Sudan’s commissioner of humanitarian aid, says relief organizations are active on the ground in Al-Jazirah dealing with the influx of the displaced. But capacity is already stretched.

“We are well networked with all organizations in Sudan,” he told Arab News. “With us now are organizations that specialize in dealing with refugees. There is coordination with the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme.”

A number of organizations have signed up to coordinate with Sudan’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Humanitarian Aid Commission and the Commission of Refugees, including the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Alight, ZOA, the Danish Refugee Council, Medical Teams International and Islamic Relief.

“Our plan is to absorb the first trauma for the displaced and provide housing worthy of their humanity, and then the organizations intervene,” said Mohammed. “There are a number of organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, who have already started their work on the mandate.”

A patient is transported on a gurney at the Medani Heart Centre hospital in Wad Madani, the capital of the Al-Jazirah state in east-central Sudan, on May 25, 2023. (AFP)

However, despite solid coordination between service committees and Al-Jazirah state authorities, Mohammed says the sheer number of displaced people may lead to even greater shortages unless aid agencies and Khartoum’s Supreme Committee act quickly.

Local food producers, in particular, are under pressure to boost production in order to meet the mounting demand of extra mouths to feed and the collapse of supply chains from the capital.

Mudther Abdul Karim, who represents local flour producers, told Arab News that the seven biggest flour mills in Al-Jazirah will likely face an increased workload owing to the closure of several units in Khartoum due to fighting.

All of Al-Jazirah’s flour mills have been compelled to operate at maximum capacity, Karim says, with authorities arranging for the import of flour from mills in Red Sea state and neighboring countries to meet the increased demand.

A Sudanese man harvests onions in the region of Jazirah, south of Khartoum, on May 11, 2023. As fighting in Khartoum shows no signs of abating, small business owners have been left at a loss with no prospect of making up weeks of unmitigated downturn. (AFP)

As for fuel, although the state benefits from a direct supply via a 217 km-long pipeline connected to the Al-Jely refinery, many citizens are still forced to wait in line for more than two days to fill cars and jerrycans.

To accommodate the human tide flowing out of Khartoum, Fatah Al-Rahman Taha, Sudan’s minister of social welfare, told Arab News that Camp Five in Al-Qadarif state, which used to house Ethiopians displaced by the Tigray War, is being reopened to prepare for new arrivals.

“The problem of war is an imposed reality, but the clouds will lift and Sudan will rise again,” said Taha.

A man walks past a shuttered petrol station in Wad Madani, the capital of the Al-Jazirah state in east-central Sudan, on May 18, 2023. (AFP)

The fighting across Sudan has killed more than 1,800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). The UN says that more than 1 million people have been displaced within Sudan, in addition to 300,000 who have fled to neighboring countries.

Increasingly desperate civilians have been waiting for brief lulls in fighting to flee or for assistance to flow through as battles have left Khartoum with intermittent supplies of food, water and electricity.

Escape from the conflict zone is not easy. Western travel advisories say that Khartoum International Airport is closed, evacuation flights from the Wadi Saeedna airbase, north of Khartoum, have ceased, and evacuation options from Port Sudan are limited.

Consequently, people seeking to leave Sudan using commercial options have to do so at their own risk. Then again, there are serious concerns about the safety and reliability of local airlines, with many of them banned from operating in international airspace.

FASTFACT

  • Khartoum state is where the national capital of Sudan, Khartoum city, is located. It is the smallest state by area but the most populous. The capital city contains offices of the state, governmental and non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions and the main airport.

Foreign citizens seeking to depart Sudan for neighboring countries by other means are instructed to take advice before doing so as border crossings may be closed, or may involve long transit and processing times, in the absence of the necessary infrastructure and staffing.

As of Monday, fighting continued in key battlegrounds despite a new ceasefire agreement which took effect on May 20 — the latest in a string of attempted deals.

Read more: Saudi, US mediators announce late Monday the ceasefire in Sudan will be extended for 5 days

The US and Saudi Arabia, which brokered the deal, reported “serious violations” since it took effect, but said in a joint statement on Friday that there had been “improved respect for the agreement,” despite “isolated gunfire in Khartoum.”

Sudanese have been suffering since the fighting began six weeks ago. (AN photo by Faiz Abubakr)

Not all of those arriving in Al-Jazirah from Khartoum state are Sudanese. For many years, the state hosted 307,000 refugees and asylum seekers from conflict zones across the African continent. But now, with the capital city and its surrounding areas engulfed in violence, they have been forced to flee once more.

“The refugees are mainly Eritreans, Ethiopians and South Sudanese,” Mustafa Mohammed, secretary-general of Al-Jazirah’s local authority and head of the chamber of volunteers formed to deal with people displaced from Khartoum, told Arab News.

“Some of them asked to return to their places of origin and means of transport were provided to them. Some were deported to refugee reception.

“With the help of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, we were able to limit the number of expatriate families nationwide, which are about 500 families to 24,700 individuals, and the number is still increasing,” he added, noting that this does not include families hosted by relatives.

“The incoming numbers to the state are large and unexpected. We are providing various services, from medical services to providing housing and food.”

For many years, Al-Jazirah state hosted 307,000 refugees and asylum seekers from conflict zones across the African continent. (AN photo by Faiz Abubakr)

The Sudanese Red Crescent Society recently reported that there were 5,244 families spread across 28 camps in various localities, totaling some 28,217 displaced individuals. Meanwhile, some 272 families are staying in apartments and 2,114 individuals in hotels.

The camps themselves suffer from water shortages and numerous other challenges, according to Yasser Salah, head of the Sharaa Alhwadeath youth volunteer initiative in Al-Jazirah.

“Since the escalation of violence in Khartoum state, we have faced a very large humanitarian disaster that volunteers address in the first place through the work of small camps, some of which are hosted in schools and others in homes,” Salah told Arab News from Al-Shaima Camp, a student housing complex in Al-Jazirah’s state capital, Wad Madani, which is receiving displaced households.

Salah said that there was no ignoring the humanitarian crisis now unfolding in the state, as pharmacies struggle to obtain basic medicines and blood banks run out of stock for transfusions.

Unofficial camps, which are not recognized by the state, have also sprung up in the wake of the crisis. Of the 18 camps in Wad Madani, just two are recognized by the government. Local volunteers told Arab News that no state assistance is provided to the remaining 16.

Instead, the displaced depend upon donations from friends and young people working in local as well as international aid agencies.

People walk as smoke billows in the background during fighting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on May 3, 2023. (AFP)

One local volunteer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The camps at our disposal suffer from lack of water and drinking water, as well as food, (medical) treatment and general (healthcare), beds and mattresses.

“There is a lack of electricity and there are a large number of patients. Therefore, we host treatment days in the presence of doctors.”

Despite the lack of government support, the volunteer said that those housed in the unofficial community-supported camps are often better off than those in state-recognized camps.

“The condition of the camps under the control of the government is worse than in the camps we operate, which are based on the principles of humanism and contribution.”

 


Egypt’s El-Sisi, top Iraqi cleric discuss political developments in Iraq

Egypt’s El-Sisi, top Iraqi cleric discuss political developments in Iraq
Updated 29 May 2023

Egypt’s El-Sisi, top Iraqi cleric discuss political developments in Iraq

Egypt’s El-Sisi, top Iraqi cleric discuss political developments in Iraq
  • Ammar Al-Hakim commends Egyptian leadership, expresses hopes for continued cooperation between two countries

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Ammar Al-Hakim, head of the Iraqi Wisdom Movement, in Cairo on Sunday. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments in Iraq and prominent regional issues of mutual interest.

During the meeting, El-Sisi affirmed his pride in the fraternal relations between Cairo and Baghdad and his government’s support of Iraq’s efforts to achieve progress.

El-Sisi also acknowledged Al-Hakim’s constructive role in maintaining stability in Iraq.

Al-Hakim likewise commended El-Sisi’s leadership and expressed Iraq’s aspiration to continue strengthening relations with Egypt, as well as his country’s appreciation for Egyptian efforts to support Iraq and its keenness to benefit from Egyptian experiences in all fields.

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry also met with Al-Hakim.

Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said the two discussed a number of regional issues of common concern and affirmed their interest in continued cooperation to improve security in the region.

Shoukry expressed Egypt’s full support of Iraq in its war against terrorism and highlighted the importance that Egypt attributes to the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, a reflection of the countries’ common political will.

Separately, during a discussion with experts of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, Al-Hakim said there are many areas in which Egypt and Iraq can coordinate, citing the importance of regional cooperation as a reason why “Iraq hosted five rounds of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in addition to discussions between other countries.”

Iraq was able to overcome, to a large extent, the challenges facing it, especially those posed by terrorist groups, which are now only present in some small enclaves in the desert, he added.

“Sectarianism in Iraq is political, not social, and there are political forces that want to entrench themselves behind sects to gain (benefits),” Al-Hakim said.

There has been a “national realization,” he added, that “there is no way to overcome challenges except through dialogue” that promotes “internal solutions” rather than ones “imposed from outside.”

He emphasized that strengthening the state is the main solution to the problems that face it.


DP World launches partnership to get African business moving

DP World launches partnership to get African business moving
Updated 29 May 2023

DP World launches partnership to get African business moving

DP World launches partnership to get African business moving
  • The partnership aims to assist closing the gap in unmet demand for working capital in Africa

DUBAI: Dubai-based DP World has teamed up with the largest bank in Africa by assets to offer new trade finance solutions, Emirates News Agency reported on Monday. 

African businesses seeking trade finance will now be able to receive working capital from Standard Bank through the DP World Trade Finance platform.

The partnership aims to assist closing the gap in unmet demand for working capital in Africa.

DP World Trade Finance connects businesses with financial institutions while also providing trade finance facilities. Customers can apply for credit on the company's digital platform, and it will offer them with the best options from international financiers that would otherwise be out of their reach.

“DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better and this partnership with Standard Bank is testament to that goal,” DP World’s Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said. 

“Africa is a key market for us, with this partnership complementing our ongoing investment and development across the continent. 

“Our recent acquisition of Imperial Logistics allowed us to enhance our logistics capabilities in Africa. 

“With the addition of DP World Trade Finance into our offerings, we aim to support African businesses of all sizes for their working capital needs. 

“Together with Standard Bank, we will help African businesses go from strength to strength and grow their exports to new markets.”

DP World Financial Services Senior Executive Officer Sinan Ozcan added: “Standard Bank joining the DP World Trade Finance platform is great news for businesses across Africa. 

“DP World offers Standard Bank access to data on cargo movements, enabling them to lend with confidence. 

“We in turn plan to co-lend and share risk with Standard Bank on deals made via the platform, whilst Standard Bank will be able to support the many suppliers in DP World’s ecosystem across Africa with its strong financing capabilities. 

“This ecosystem has itself been strengthened by the acquisition of Imperial Logistics by DP World in 2022. 

“Standard Bank’s strong presence across countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique will see this partnership develop further in the African market.”

Since its launch in July 2021, DP World Trade Finance has partnered with 23 financial institutions and generated more than $700 million in credit limit submissions. The company began directly lending to businesses last year.

Kenny Fihla, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank said: “Partnering with DP World allows us to enhance how we facilitate cross-border transactions in growing key trade corridors.”
 


Desert wells help Iraq harvest bumper wheat crop as rivers dry

Desert wells help Iraq harvest bumper wheat crop as rivers dry
Updated 29 May 2023

Desert wells help Iraq harvest bumper wheat crop as rivers dry

Desert wells help Iraq harvest bumper wheat crop as rivers dry
  • Drilling the desert for water could provide immediate relief in a country that the UN says is among the five nations most vulnerable to climate change in the world

KARBALA: Amin Salah used to grow wheat near the banks of Iraq’s Euphrates River, but persistent droughts have led him to switch to farming unlikely new grounds deep in the harsh desert of Najaf.

Watered by sprinklers fitted to wells dug more than 100 meters under the sun-bleached earth, his land now produces double what it did compared to when he relied on ancient methods that flood fields with river water, he said.

“It’s a golden year, a golden season,” said Salah, wearing a traditional white robe and reflective sunglasses as he walked his field and noted the benefits: less money and water spent, as well as a bigger and quality harvest.

Iraq’s government says this officially supported shift has allowed the country to double areas cultivated with wheat this year to some 8.5 million dunams (850,000 hectares) compared to roughly 4 million (400,000 hectares) last year.

Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Al-Khuzai said that has translated into a harvest of around 4 million tons of wheat — the largest in years and 80 percent of the needs of a country with a 43 million population who eat bread at almost every meal. The shift in methods is driven by necessity: Iraq’s two main rivers, along which civilization emerged thousands of years ago, have lost more than half of their flow due to reduced rainfall, overuse and upstream dams.

Drilling the desert for water could provide immediate relief in a country that the UN says is among the five nations most vulnerable to climate change in the world, and where climate-induced migration has already begun. However, heavy use of the wells could bleed desert aquifers dry, agricultural experts and environmentalists warn. Some farmers have already noted a drop in the water table.

Iraq has more than 110,000 wells, but only a fraction, some 10,000, are fitted with modern systems that prevent water waste, said Karim Bilal, an agricultural engineer and former director of Najaf’s agriculture directorate.

Hadi Fathallah, director of public policy at consultancy Namea Group who has researched agriculture in Iraq said: “It’s very desperate to go to desert wells.

“You are plugging into aquifers that have been gathering water for thousands of years and will disappear in a few years if used this way,” he said.

Iraq should focus on modernizing agriculture, engage in water diplomacy with its neighbors to increase river flows and revitalize agricultural areas that have not recovered from war, Fathallah said.

Al-Khuzai said the government was focused on sustainable use, supporting the installation of drip and sprinkler systems.

Large institutions have bought into the shift to desert wells: The body that oversees the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine now farms 400 hectares of wheat in the desert — 55 km from the shrine — up from 100 hectares in 2019.

“We have turned the desert into a green oasis,” declared Qahtan Awaz, an agricultural official with the shrine, though he noted that the water table had sunk between 12 to 15 meters since last season.

Behind him, a pair of large green US-made harvesters pulled in wheat grown in large circles, then funneled processed grain into waiting trucks for delivery to government silos.

From there, much of the grain enters one of the largest government-run food programs in the world, which provides most families with monthly rations. 

Crop failures in 2021 and 2022 driven by drought, and a surge in food prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put the scheme under pressure, which the government wants to avoid.

“The government are trying to alleviate a lot of pain,” Fathallah said. 

“But this is not adaptation to climate change. It’s a kind of morphine.” 


Egypt’s El-Sisi, Turkiye’s Erdogan agree on reinstating ambassadors

Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (File/AFP)
Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (File/AFP)
Updated 29 May 2023

Egypt’s El-Sisi, Turkiye’s Erdogan agree on reinstating ambassadors

Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (File/AFP)

CAIRO: Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on “the immediate start of upgrading diplomatic relations, exchanging ambassadors,” Egypt’s presidency said in a statement on Monday.
El-Sisi spoke with Erdogan in a phone call to congratulate him on his presidential win.
Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry visited Turkiye in April and met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the two parties agreed then on specific time frame to raise the level of diplomatic relations and to prepare for a summit between the two presidents.
The presidents may meet in person again after Turkiye’s May 14 election, Cavusoglu said in April.