DM Monitoring
ANKARA: Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Jordan will take steps toward jointly combating Islamic State in the region and they aim to hold a first meeting on the issue in Jordan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.
Since the ousting of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, Western and regional countries have warned of a possible resurgence of Islamic State.
Thousands of members of the militant Islamist group are being held in prison camps in northeast Syria.
Fidan told Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency that the four countries had reached a preliminary agreement for closer cooperation involving their foreign and defence ministries and intelligence agencies.
The four countries plan to take measures on border security, he added, though he did not say but did not say when the first meeting would take place.
The US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are guarding the Islamic State prison camps in northeast Syria. Turkey regards the SDF and the YPG militia which spearheads the group as terrorists, and says the prisons must be handed over to Syria’s new leadership.
Ankara has repeatedly said it would support the new Syrian administration – which is friendly toward Turkey – in its battle against both Islamic State and the YPG, while calling for a joint battle against them.
On Tuesday, President Tayyip Erdogan hosted Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Ankara for talks on steps to be taken against Kurdish militants and other issues.
Earlier, Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are expected to discuss a joint defense pact in Ankara on Tuesday, including establishing Turkish airbases in central Syria and training for Syria’s new army, four sources familiar with the matter said.
NATO member Turkey has long backed Syria’s armed and political opposition to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in late December in a lightning offensive spearheaded by Sharaa’s forces.
Ankara is positioning itself to play a major role in the new Syria, filling a vacuum left by Assad’s main regional backer Iran, in an expansion of Turkish sway that could spark rivalry with Gulf Arab states and put Israel on edge.
The sources – a Syrian security official, two Damascus-based foreign security sources and a senior regional intelligence official – spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media about the meeting.
This is the first time that elements of any strategic defense arrangement by Syria’s new leaders, including details of additional Turkish bases, have come to light.
The pact could see Turkey establish new air bases in Syria, use Syrian airspace for military purposes, and take a lead role in training troops in Syria’s new army, the sources said. Syria’s new leadership has dissolved the army and its various rebel factions, and is working on integrating them into a new military command. The sources said the deal was not expected to be finalised on Tuesday.
