ANKARA, 8 January 2004 — Syrian President Bashar Assad’s historic visit to Turkey has crowned a spectacular rapprochement between the two former foes and might lead to important international gains for the two neighbors in a troubled region, observers said yesterday.
There was obvious pleasure on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border over the outcome of the talks between Bashar, the first Syrian president to come to Turkey, and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
“We are happy with the talks. We see this visit as the beginning of a new period in which our relations will be put back on track,” a Turkish diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Tuesday’s talks saw both leaders call for increased bilateral cooperation to help achieve regional peace. And they also underlined their opposition to any moves that might jeopardize the territorial integrity of postwar Iraq.
This show of unanimity constitutes a stark contrast with tensions which brought the two countries to the brink of war in 1998 after Ankara accused Damascus of harboring Kurdish rebels waging an armed campaign against Turkey.
Tension was eased when Syria agreed to stop harboring the rebels and expelled their leader, Abdulah Ocalan.
“Syria is now an ally,” the liberal Turkish daily Radikal said, while the Yeni Safak newspaper heralded a “partnership for peace and stability”.
The official Syrian press also welcomed the “solidity” of relations with Turkey, with the ruling party daily, Al-Baath, calling the visit a “strategic turning point in the process of bilateral relations”.
According to Huseyin Bagci, professor of international relations at the Middle East Technical University, Turkey and Syria have moved closer to dealing with common problems.
“The Turkish-Syrian talks showed that the two countries’ views on the Middle East have more common points than differences. This has made them two neighbors who must cooperate in the Middle East,” Bagci told AFP.
Bashar’s visit could also have a positive impact on their respective regional and international roles.
Turkey is a long-standing NATO ally of the United States and has forged close relations with Israel since a key 1996 military deal.
Syria on the other hand remains technically at war with the Jewish state and has for long been on the US State Department’s list of countries which support “terrorism”.
Mainly Muslim but Western-oriented Turkey could help Syria break its international isolation, while the rapprochement with Damascus could help Turkey increase its credibility in the Middle East, according to observers.
“The improving ties between Turkey and Syria brings the Arab state closer to NATO and the European Union” which Turkey is seeking to join, Bagci said.
Turkey, on the other hand could find its geo-strategic role strengthened and might help jumpstart stalled peace talks in the Middle East, said a column in the popular Milliyet daily.
“Turkey is reaching a position where it can take on certain roles or missions. For example it reaches a position where it can facilitate the resolution of problems between Syria (or the Arab world) and the United States, as well as the European Union and Israel,” it added.
Bashar, whose three-day visit began on Tuesday, met Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and army chief of staff, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday. He was to fly to Istanbul later in the day for talks with businessmen today.
