The Turkish Foreign Minister said on Monday that the recent rapid progress made by opposition fighters in Syria shows that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must reconcile with his people and hold talks with the opposition.
At a joint press conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, Hakan Fidan said that Turkey and Iran, which support opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, agreed to resume diplomatic efforts with Russia to restore calm days after opposition fighters launched a lightning attack and seized nearly 100 km. . All of the country’s largest city, Aleppo.
Opposition activists said the rebels took control of four new towns early Tuesday, while government forces regained some territory lost last week.
The seizure of the towns is the latest in a rebel offensive led by the Salafist jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, as well as opposition fighters backed by Türkiye. The rebels are now about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city.
The rapid advance has been a major embarrassment for Assad, and comes at a time when his allies – Iran and Russia – are preoccupied with their own conflicts.
The attack is among the strongest opposition moves in years and raises the possibility of reopening another violent front in the Middle East as US-backed Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both groups allied with Iran.
Fidan, whose country supports forces opposed to Assad, blamed the recent outbreak of conflict on the Syrian government’s refusal to enter into dialogue with the opposition, which is supported by Türkiye.
The Turkish minister said: “Recent developments show once again that Damascus must reconcile with its people and the legitimate opposition.” “Türkiye is ready to make all necessary contributions to achieve this.”
Fidan’s statements came amid Turkish frustration over the failure of recent efforts to achieve reconciliation with Assad. Comments indicated that the shocking attack launched by opposition fighters may aim to pressure the Syrian president to participate in political talks.
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Türkiye is seeking to normalize relations with Syria to confront security threats from groups linked to Kurdish militants along its southern border and to help ensure the safe return of more than 3 million Syrian refugees. Al-Assad insisted that Türkiye’s withdrawal of its military forces from northern Syria be a condition for any normalization between the two countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who visited Assad on Sunday before heading to Ankara, affirmed Tehran’s full support for the Syrian government. Iran has been one of Assad’s main political and military backers, deploying military advisers and troops after the 2011 protests against Assad’s rule turned into all-out war.
An Iraqi militia official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have deployed in Syria to support the government’s counterattack against militants.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, about 200 Iraqi militiamen aboard pickup trucks crossed into Syria overnight via the strategic Albukamal crossing. The Observatory said they are expected to deploy in Aleppo to support the Syrian army’s attack on the militants.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press video showed armed rebels at Aleppo International Airport, one standing on a Syrian government flag and others tearing down a poster of Assad.
The insurgents were also seen boarding abandoned planes and wandering the airport grounds littered with weapons and ammunition boxes.
The rebel attack in Syria has raised concerns among neighboring countries about the possibility of a spillover of the conflict. In Iraq, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Brig. Brigadier General Miqdad Miri said that security forces were deployed in larger numbers to protect its large border with Syria.
Fidan affirmed Turkey’s support for Syrian territorial integrity, but indicated that Turkey would not hesitate to intervene against the Syrian Kurdish militias, which Turkey considers terrorist if they “exploit the environment of instability.”
Fidan said, “It was a mistake to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition and not engage the (Syrian) regime sincerely in the political process.”
Fidan added that Türkiye “will never allow terrorist organizations that seek to exploit an environment of instability.” “We will eliminate any threat to our national security and our people wherever it appears.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his hope that the state of instability in Syria would end “in line with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people.” On Monday, he spoke at a joint press conference with the President of Montenegro.
Both Fidan and Araqchi said that Turkey, Iran and Russia will hold a new tripartite meeting to address the conflict in Syria.
Araqchi said: “We have decided to hold closer consultations and dialogue, and we will cooperate, God willing, to further improve the situation towards peace and stability in our region.”
Russia, whose intervention in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Assad was crucial in turning the conflict in his favor, said it would continue to support him.
“We continue our contacts at the appropriate level,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. He added that a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation.
The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the Assad regime ignored Security Council resolutions and refused to sit at the negotiating table.
She added: “We are monitoring this situation closely, and we will continue to work with our partners in the region to find a way for the situation to return to calm.”
As Syrian and Russian planes continued to bomb targets, two airstrikes hit a group of four hospitals and a health directorate building in Idlib city, the Syrian Civil Defense force operating in opposition-controlled areas, known as the White Helmets, said.
Two people died in Idlib University Hospital after oxygen machines stopped working following the raids. Roof panels and doors at the hospital were blown away, while ambulances and vehicles outside were severely damaged, according to footage taken by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital.
At least 15 civilians were killed in Idlib city and governorate, according to the White Helmets.
Syrian Kurds fled the fighting in large numbers after Turkish-backed rebels seized Tal Rifaat from rival US-backed Kurdish authorities. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have largely withdrawn and called for a humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave safely in convoys towards Aleppo and then to the Kurdish-led northeastern regions.
