Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on May 31, his government was working on reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus.
"God willing, we will see some steps in this regard soon," Sudani told a Turkish broadcast media, adding that he was in contact with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in regards to reconciliation efforts.
Turkey had been backing armed groups that were fighting in the failed US-NATO war in Syria for regime change which began in 2011 by President Obama. Erdogan publicly announced in 2022 that ousting Assad was no longer his government's goal in Syria. The first high-level direct talks between the two countries, brokered by Russia the same year, were not successful because Damascus demanded an end to the Turkish military occupation of Syria as a prerequisite to restoring diplomatic ties.
Sudani visited Damascus last July, and Erdogan visited Baghdad last month, while also last month the Iraqi premier held security talks with Syria's interior minister, Muhammad al-Rahmoun, in Baghdad.
Sudani said the security of both Iraq and Syria are threatened by areas in Syria "that are not controlled by the Syrian government." The province of Idlib is controlled by HTS, formerly the Al Qaeda branch in Syria, Turkey occupies areas of the border north of Aleppo, and the US occupies areas in the northeast and the border with Iraq. Sudani is identifying HTS, Turkey, and the US as threats to national security of both countries.
In April, Iraq recognized the PKK as a banned international terrorist group. The north of Iraq is "Iraqi Kurdistan", and it has major energy resources. While it is supposed to pledge nominal allegiance to Baghdad, the PKK are headquartered there.
The US partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the coalition to defeat ISIS in Syria. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the PKK in Syria, and this has been the reason given for the Turkish military invasion in sensitive areas along the northern Syrian border.
The PKK has been waging an armed campaign against the Turkish state for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The PKK have killed over 30,000 people over three decades of terrorist activity, and crushing US-allied SDF remains one of the top security concerns for Turkey, as Ankara equates it with the PKK.
The main goal of the unfruitful direct talks between high-level Turkish, Syrian and Russian officials in 2022 was largely aimed at eradicating the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northern Syria.
The Turkish armed forces launched five ground incursions into Syria from 2016 to 2020 -- four against the SDF and one against ISIS -- and it regularly conducts airstrikes in SDF-controlled regions.
Erdo?an declared on May 29, that Turkey will not allow Kurdish-led groups in Syria to establish a semi-autonomous state along its borders following the announcement of upcoming municipal elections by the SDF, who plan to hold elections on June 11 in the northern and eastern provinces of Syria, including Hassakeh, Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and parts of Aleppo.
"Turkey will never allow the separatist organization to establish a terror state just beyond its southern borders in the north of Syria and Iraq," Erdogan said during the Efes-2024 Joint Military Exercise.
On May 28, Erdogan emphasized Turkey's commitment to combating terrorism and maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq. Turkey plans to address the Kurdish issue at the upcoming NATO Summit in July.
The Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Syria, which is organizing the elections, sees them as a step towards greater self-governance, which is a red-line for Turkey.
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