The Adana Consensus on Turkey-Syria Relations from Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who met with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow yesterday, made notable remarks about the normalization measures between Turkey and Syria.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia earlier this month, Syrian leader Bashar Assad used strong words, saying he would not meet President Erdogan unless the Turkish army withdrew from Syria. Assad said: “Our goal is for Turkey to withdraw from Syrian territory, but Erdogan’s goal, in response, is to try to legitimize Turkey’s presence in Syria. Therefore, a meeting cannot take place on Erdogan’s terms. Why should I meet Erdogan? For a drink?” he said.

While Russia has acted as a mediator to revive the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, which have slowed down recently, Lavrov noted that they discussed steps to be taken in this regard at their meeting with Fidan yesterday.

ADANA RECRUITMENT PROPOSAL

Lavrov also touched on Turkey-Syria relations in his speech at the event held today at the Moscow State Diplomatic Institute.

“In our informal contacts, we suggested going back to the philosophy when the Adana Agreement was signed in 1998,” the Russian minister said. Noting that the deal in question gives Turkey the right to intervene against the terrorist threat in Syria, Lavrov said: “This deal is still in force, no one has terminated it.”

Assessing that the obstacle to normalization between Turkey and Syria is the United States, Lavrov said: “It is the United States that resolutely fuels the separatism of Kurdish radical organizations, which the Turks describe as a threat to their security, so these processes They are interconnected.”

The Adana Agreement, signed in 1998, was intended to prevent the Syrian administration from posing a threat to Turkey from the PKK and its extensions using its own territory, but has not been effectively implemented since 2011, when war broke out in Syria.

Russia had previously raised the proposal to update the Adana Consensus and the issue was controversial. (AGENCIES)