Erdogan discusses tackling Kurdish militants with Syria’s al-Sharaa in Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had discussed in Ankara on Tuesday steps to be taken against Kurdish militants in northeast Syria.

Speaking alongside al-Sharaa at a news conference in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help Syria’s new leadership in the battle against both ISIS and Kurdish militants.

“I would like to express our satisfaction for the strong commitment my brother Ahmed al-Sharaa has shown in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

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Turkey has repeatedly offered operational and military support to help al-Sharaa’s new government fight against militant groups still operational in war-torn Syria.

Erdogan has repeatedly called for action to root out ISIS militants as well as Kurdish militants based in northeastern Syria whom Turkey sees as a strategic threat over their ties to its domestic nemesis, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).

“I told (al-Sharaa) we are ready to provide the necessary support to Syria in the fight against all kinds of terrorism, whether it be Daesh or the PKK,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Erdogan also reiterated Turkey’s offer to help run prisons holding ISIS fighters in northeastern Syria, which are currently run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

‘Strategic partnership’

Erdogan also said he believed the voluntary return of Syrian migrants would accelerate as Syria became more stable.

He said Turkey would continue to press for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Syria during former president Bashar al-Assad’s rule, adding that it was important for Arab and Muslim countries to support the new Damascus government – financially and otherwise – in the period of transition.

Al-Sharaa said his government sought a “strategic partnership” with Turkey, and he invited Erdogan to visit Syria soon as relations between the two neighbors continue to thaw.

“We are working on building a strategic partnership with Turkey to confront the security threats in the region to guarantee permanent security and stability to Syria and Turkey,” al-Sharaa said.

Ankara severed ties with Damascus in 2011 after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, during which it supported opposition forces seeking to oust al-Assad.

During his visit to Turkey, al-Sharaa has also discussed economic ties as Turkish transport and manufacturing firms eye big expansion plans for Syria in what some expect to be a tripling of trade.

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