Assad accuses Turkiye of reigniting Syria conflict

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has insisted he will not meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan under his terms, accusing Turkiye of being responsible for an increase in conflict within the north of Syria.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia, which was aired yesterday, Al-Assad claimed that “terrorism in Syria is made in Turkiye”, referring to Ankara’s backing of armed opposition groups in northern Syria and the Turkish military’s continued presence in some of those areas following three incursions over the years.

He denied various reports of a potential meeting with Erdogan, despite recent meetings between Turkish and Syrian defence ministers and intelligence cooperation between the two countries, as well as pressure by Al-Assad’s allies Iran and Russia.

Instead, the Syrian president reiterated the insistence for Turkiye to set a timeframe for the withdrawal of Turkish military forces from northern Syria as a primary condition for normalising relations and even meeting with him.

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“Erdogan’s objective in meeting me is to legitimise the Turkish occupation in Syria,” Al-Assad said in the interview. “Why should I and Erdogan meet? To have soft drinks?” He stressed that “the meeting cannot take place under Erdogan’s conditions.”

When asked about his expectations from the wider Arab world, which has increasingly restored relations with Damascus in recent years, Al-Assad said: “I cannot expect, I can hope”. According to him, it is “unrealistic to expect that…these relationships, which began to look closer to normal, would lead to economic results within months.”

The Syrian president also hit back at claims that the narcotics trade spreading from Syria out into the wider region and beyond – through the methamphetamine captagon – is his regime’s responsibility, calling it “illogical” to accuse Damascus of involvement in drug smuggling as it has a “shared interest” with Arab states in fighting it.

His denial comes at a time when the captagon trade has increasingly been linked back to elements, figures and militias close to the Syrian regime and even directly affiliated with it. Al-Assad’s brother Maher is reportedly one of the most prominent figures in the drug’s production and export.