Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan advised native TV channel NTV on Friday that Turkey performed a key function in ensuring that Assad’s allies, Russia and Iran, didn’t intervene within the lighting offensive that toppled the Assad regime earlier this month.
Discussing the developments in Syria with the channel, Fidan described Turkey’s function within the improvement and coaching of Syria’s rebels and its eventual function in serving to guarantee the autumn of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Asked if the diplomats assembly in Doha throughout the collapse of the regime knew this was the top of the regime, the overseas minister stated that the Turkish Foreign Ministry had labored to make sure that neither Russia nor Iran intervened.
“The most significant difficulty that wanted to be accomplished was for the Russians to not enter the equation as an important difficulty,” Fidan stated. “The Iranian Foreign Minister got here, and we acquired along with the Russians and Iranians in Doha and talked about sure points.”
“If the regime had been supported, it may have been very bloody,” he continued, “The Russians and Iranians noticed that there was no level in persevering with this; after a sure level, they referred to as, and Assad left that night.
“We paved the best way for this to be cold by persevering with centered talks.”
Preventing chaos
When requested whether or not the brand new rulers in Damascus would shield minority teams in Syria, Fidan stated, “What they are saying and what they do coincide. They are heading in the right direction.”
Ahmad al-Sharaa (al-Julani), the chief of Hayat Tahrir al-Shams, the first insurgent group concerned within the toppling of the Assad regime, has constantly emphasised that the brand new authorities would shield minorities. However, his previous ties to Al Qaeda and ISIS have raised doubts.
Fidan assured NTV that Turkey was working to forestall the creation of an influence vacuum in Syria.
“This danger at all times exists, so we have to act constructively,” he stated. “We are very delicate about this difficulty. The crucial diplomatic and intelligence steps have to be taken.”
Fidan additionally confirmed that the Turkish embassy in Damascus could be open and operational by Saturday.
