Brussels wants to use Ankara's influence to guarantee unity in Syria, as well as to avoid a new confrontation in the northern part of the country.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00All roads leading to Syria pass through Ankara.
00:09Turkey, one of the biggest winners of regime change in Syria, has indirect military presence
00:14in the country and supported the rebels who seized power last week.
00:20This gives Ankara good access to Syria's new leaders as well as international recognition
00:24as a major player in the country's affairs.
00:28From U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to European Commission President Ursula von
00:32der Leyen, Western leaders are visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss
00:36latest developments in Syria.
00:40From the perspective of the EU and President von der Leyen, what choice do you have?
00:45The reality is that today, Turkey is the main outside power broker inside Syria and if you
00:54want to have any influence on events there, you have to work through Turkey.
01:01On Monday, a senior EU diplomat had already made first contact with the provisional government
01:05set up in Syria by HDS.
01:07But for Brussels, it is important to use Ankara's influence to facilitate a smooth transition
01:13that guarantees the unity of the country and respect for all minorities.
01:19If you listen to Turkey, they are ready to play a big role, they are in favor of tolerance
01:27as we are, as Europeans of course, they are in favor of territorial integrity as we are,
01:33but in the case of Turkey, remember that they have lots of troops in the northern part of
01:39Syria.
01:40So how this will unfold, we don't know yet.
01:43And also, in Syria we have the remnants of Islamic State, so security there is very important.
01:51But in northern Syria, there is not just a Turkish buffer zone controlled by the Syrian
01:54National Army, but also a significant area under the control of Kurdish groups, which
01:59are supported by the US.
02:01And Ursula von der Leyen will try to avoid a new confrontation.
02:06She will not want Turkey and particularly the Turkish-aligned rebel militias inside
02:14Syria to aggressively pursue military confrontation with the Kurdish militias, which is another
02:22way of saying she will want Turkey to help create a unified Syrian country and not start
02:31another civil war to pursue in another theater the ongoing Turkish military operation against
02:42Kurdish rebels both inside Turkey, inside Iraq, and today occasionally also inside Syria.
02:49There is also the issue of refugees.
02:52Considered not enough by Ankara, Turkey has received some financial assistance in the
02:55past from the EU and a promise for an additional 1 billion euros to host Syrian refugees.
03:00Now Ankara wants to send them back and this will require stability in the region.