Russia Today: Turkish Foreign Minister reveals Israel and another country’s opposed removing Assad regime

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “Israel has never wanted Assad to leave power, and we have not seen any military operation from Syria against Israel”.

He added, “All Israeli strikes on Syrian territory were targeting Iranians and Hezbollah elements”.

He continued, “Seven years ago, Joe Biden came to Türkiye and met with our president and said, we don’t want Bashar to leave, and we know in reality that this was Israel’s point of view, not Washington’s”.

“It’s time for the countries of the region to cooperate in the spirit of mutual respect for each other’s borders and sovereignty and to strive together to achieve the interests of all and establish a special system,” Fidan added in his televised interview.

Fidan explained that a new phase has begun in Syria after 14 years of suffering.

In this context, he pointed out that there is a border between Türkiye and Syria that extends for 911 km, indicating that the historical, geographical, cultural and religious ties between Türkiye and Syria make the two countries one body.

He continued, “When this difficult period began in Syria in 2011, the Syrian opposition in the north relied on Türkiye, and millions of displaced refugees considered Türkiye their homeland, and we, in turn, opened our doors to them”.

Fidan pointed out that Türkiye worked hard, especially for the Syrian opposition, to solve the problem constructively and that the Astana track was very important in this regard and that the Bashar al Assad regime didn’t accept the solutions for various reasons.

He added, “The regime had two options: either share power and reconcile with its people, or share power with external powers that supported it against its people… By leaning towards the second option with Russia and Iran, the regime failed to provide basic services to the people and to achieve peace and economic recovery, which led to its gradual collapse”.

In response to a question about the existence of an international consensus to remove Assad and pave the way for the advance of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, Fidan denied Türkiye’s participation in any such operation.

He said, “After the operations began by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham and other factions, we worked to reduce the cost and losses, but we were not part of any prior planning or coordination with any country or group”.

Fidan explained that Türkiye held intensive meetings with both Russia and Iran to continue the ceasefire on the ground and solve the problems, and that Ankara always put the opposition’s views on the table.

He pointed out that there are relations based on mutual respect between Türkiye, Russia and Iran, and that Ankara informed both sides that there is no point in repeating the same scenario that occurred in 2006, 2015 and 2016.

He stressed that Türkiye also informed the Russians and Iranians that they came to Syria to help Assad and support him in confronting the opposition, but Assad failed to provide services to his people and reconcile with them, which led to the emergence of the current scene.

He said that the self-reviews of both Russia and Iran showed them the same results.

He pointed out that Türkiye is an important friend of the opposition as an important element in the region, and that the dialogue it established in this regard regarding managing the process in a constructive language was also influential, stressing that the dialogue will continue in the next stage.

When asked about the party that contacted Assad and was behind his escape from Syria, he said that Türkiye knows that its interlocutors were in direct contact with Damascus on that day and informed it of that.

He stressed that he does not know exactly who spoke with Assad that day and at what level, and all he knows is that there was direct contact.

Fidan denied the allegations that Türkiye facilitated Assad’s escape in cooperation with some parties, stressing that Türkiye couldn’t have done such a thing and had no role in this matter.

He explained that the Russians themselves announced that they were the ones who made the necessary arrangements in this matter and that Türkiye never interfered.

In response to a question about the visit of Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin to Damascus, Fidan said that the visit took place after extensive consultations with regional and Western countries.

“How should the countries of the region and the world establish contact with the new government in Damascus? Through our contacts, we saw a general impression and demand, and there were certain principles that almost everyone agreed on, namely that terrorist organizations should not benefit from Damascus in the new period, and that minorities should receive special good treatment, especially Christians, Kurds, Alawites and Turkmen… Then there were different points of view that were formed, such as forming a government that embraces everyone and does not pose a threat to its neighbors”.

Fidan said that Kalin conveyed to the other side the views of the international community, the region and Türkiye and obtained information from it, and that based on this information, a meeting and discussions were held in the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan on December 14.

Regarding Türkiye’s policy in Syria, Fidan stressed that it had many dimensions over the course of 13 years, the most important of which was preventing the flow of refugees into Türkiye because of Assad, who refused to reconcile with his opponents.

He explained that this is why Türkiye worked with the opposition factions that controlled the front lines, especially the Syrian National Army and the National Liberation Front.

“There were 4 million Syrian citizens living in Idlib province under the control of Hayat Tahrir al Sham… They could have come to Türkiye in a crisis, and in order to prevent these crises and ensure their continued presence there in a stable manner, we were of course in a certain coordination, and we had the opportunity to get to know the organization during that period,” he added.

“We’ve always conveyed to them our recommendations and advice, especially regarding the nature of modern administration and modern management systems… What we see is that the first priority for the body and other components isn’t to repeat the mistakes made by Bashar al Assad and to embrace the people to achieve the prosperity and stability they deserve… We must help them do that, and they must not make mistakes either,” he continued.

Asked if he had met the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, Fidan pointed out that he had previously served as head of Turkish intelligence for 13 years and that the Syrian crisis had occupied this period of his work, and that he had always been in contact with certain actors after assuming the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The minister explained that Türkiye had raised the issue of the new phase in Syria even before arriving there for discussion with its allies and friends in the region, and that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a vision in this regard, and this language should be developed in the region.

He explained that this language represents the rejection of any Iranian, Turkish or Arab domination in the region, meaning that Türkiye doesn’t want one power to dominate another.

Fidan stressed the necessity that the Arabs in the Gulf region shouldn’t dominate each other or other places, and that Türkiye or Iran should not dominate other places.

He stated that during the transition from 2024 to 2025, all countries have become mature enough and their infrastructure is strong.

Saudi Arabia has great power, as does the UAE, and there is influence from Qatar and Kuwait, and Egypt is also doing what it can already.

“It’s time for us to come together and establish our own interests and order in the region by respecting each other’s borders and sovereign rights within the framework of a culture of cooperation and to go beyond respect by pledging to protect each other and stand together,” he said.

“Otherwise, the region will be vulnerable to external interventions and attempts to take advantage of polarization, which will lead to bloody and costly long-term conflicts in the region,” Fidan stressed.

He added, “There is no need for this conflict, as the people of the region can live with complete openness and transparency”.

He pointed out that there is a kinship between the countries of the region, as they are all Muslims, and it’s possible for us to meet and define our interests, desires and sensitivities with great maturity and professionalism, and to establish alliances with each other, as they establish in Europe, North America and other places, economically, politically and militarily… All of this can be done in this region”.

Fidan stressed that the region’s soil is fertile, its people are productive, hardworking and honest, and its countries have become mature, and therefore there are many things that can be done together.

He stressed the need to abandon the idea of ​​domination and imperialist ideas, which consist of a country trying to rule other countries in the region using an agent or a party providing money behind the scenes to protect its interests in advance.

He continued, “When we say that action produces a counter-reaction and reaction produces another action, we enter a vicious circle… The region has learned enough lessons to get out of this vicious circle… Our region has been in a great whirlpool of fire for the past 20 to 30 years”.

Fidan explained that the Gulf countries were affected by the problem in Yemen, and Türkiye was affected by the problems in Iraq and Syria.

He expressed his belief that Iran will also learn lessons in the new phase, calling for constructive assistance in this regard.

Fidan also called for helping the new government in Syria by informing it of aspirations.

He added, “I believe that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan are capable of meeting to take very important steps to solve the critical problems in the region… We started this through the Aqaba meeting… The important thing is for the countries to be honest”.

Fidan pointed out that Türkiye enjoys very good relations with the Saudi authorities and that honest and open dialogues are being held between the two countries.

Fidan said that there might be some problems in Syria in the new period, stressing in this context the need for the countries of the region to help the new administration in Damascus to solve the existing problems.

He continued, “We want a civil and democratic state in Syria, but it’s illogical to expect Swiss democracy to be implemented in Syria overnight, in a month, or in a year.”

Fidan pointed out the possibility of establishing an integrated administration within the borders of the Syrian state through constitutional citizenship and avoiding encouraging various forms of discrimination and separation.

He stressed the importance of the new Damascus administration not establishing relations with terrorist organizations and not mistreating minorities and issues related to women’s rights.

Fidan explained that with the help of the countries of the region for the new administration, more than 10 million Syrians will return to their homes and the economy will recover.

Fidan touched on the Palestinian issue, calling for an end to the genocide carried out by Israel in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.