Major Moscow Summit Moves Syria-Turkey 'Normalization' Forward

Tuesday witnessed a big step closer to Syria-Turkey normalization, following 12 years of a de facto state of war between the countries, given Turkish forces have long occupied strips of territory near the northern Syria border and previously supported a "jihadist highway" into the country in past efforts to overthrow President Assad.

Russia has proposed a normalization process in a four-way meeting held in Moscow between between the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. At the meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov launched a clear "roadmap" for Turkish-Syrian normalization which could later be signed by the heads of state.

"The launch of the Turkish-Syrian normalization process, with the participation of the three guarantor countries, has proven the effectiveness of the Astana formula, which will have a noticeable positive impact, not only on the situation in Syria but also on the general climate in the region as a whole," Lavrov said.

Damascus has welcomed the initiative as a way to ensure Syrian sovereignty, with the long-term interests of both Ankara and Damascus being to force the American occupation out of northeast Syria. 

Going into the Moscow meeting, Syrian state SANA previewed that the summit of foreign ministers would focus on "ending the illegal Turkish presence on Syrian territory, non-interference in the Syrian internal affairs, and combating terrorism in all its forms."

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad stressed his country will "continue to work, demand and insist on the issue of Turkish withdrawal," and “stress the need to fight all terrorist organizations on Syrian soil."

Turkish incursions into Syrian territory have come in waves in recent years. Erdogan has ordered a campaign against Syrian Kurdish forces, which Turkey sees as an extension of the outlawed PKK. All the while, US special forces have been embedded among the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which Erdogan has also condemned, fraying US-Turkey relations.

Also over the past year there have been quiet negotiations between Syrian Kurdish factions and the Assad government. The Kurds have long wanted some level of autonomy, but also need the protection of a strong state against Turkish aggression. Russia also hopes a pragmatic arrangement will ultimately pressure the Americans to abandon the region, which also happens to be Syria's oil and gas rich part of the country.