Erdogan reassures Syrian rebels but says Turkey open to negotiations with Assad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought on Tuesday to reassure Turkey-backed Syrian armed opposition groups after clashes in northern Syria that left seven people dead, but he also insisted that any dialogue with the Assad government in Syria could take place in line with Ankara's approach.

“We continue to improve our relations with all actors in our region, starting with our neighbors,” Erdogan said in a televised speech after a cabinet meeting in Ankara. “But in this process, we will not disappoint anyone who trusted us, took refuge in us and acted with us,” he added.

Turkey is not and will not be a country that betrays its friends.

The remarks come after deadly protests in areas controlled by pro-Turkish rebels in northern Syria over the past 48 hours. Unprecedented armed clashes between Turkish forces and some armed protesters could threaten Ankara's interests in the region. The protests follow anti-immigrant riots in central Turkey on Sunday, in which angry mobs set fire to dozens of Syrian-owned shops and vandalized vehicles.

But analysts say there is growing anger among Turkey-backed Syrian groups over positive signals sent by Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the past year about the resumption of high-level talks between Ankara and Damascus. Ankara backs Syrian armed opposition groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and controls much of the territory along the Turkish-Syrian border with opposition groups.

At least seven people were killed in the clashes, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Al-Monitor was unable to independently confirm the toll.

Our intelligence units are conducting very meticulous efforts with their partners across the [Syria] Police said Turkish security forces had made efforts to prevent attacks on the border, Erdogan said in a bid to identify dirty hands behind the incidents on both sides of the border.

He also pledged not to allow Syrians to be targeted in Turkey. Public order is the red line of our country. We will not allow this line to be crossed under any circumstances.

Videos of Syrian protesters chanting anti-Turkey slogans and vandalizing the Turkish flag on social media early Monday sparked a new wave of anti-immigrant demonstrations in several provinces Monday night, including Istanbul and Hatay and Sanliurfa along the Syrian border. Some protesters were seen attacking Syrians in new videos shared on social media. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said earlier Tuesday that 447 people had been arrested following the riots. Turkey is home to nearly 3.2 million Syrians, according to official figures.

Rebel-held northern Syria saw similar angry protests in 2022 when Russian-mediated direct talks between senior Turkish and Syrian officials began. The talks broke down as the Syrian government pressed for Turkish forces to withdraw from the country.

Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan said Turkey ruled out any short-term withdrawal from the war-torn country, reiterating his country's concerns that the power vacuum resulting from such a move could be filled by the U.S.-allied Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Ankara considers a threat to its national security.

“Once the separatist terrorist threat is completely eliminated, we will of course do our part,” Erdogan said. “No one should expect us to follow events from afar while the terrorist organization commits a new provocation every day,” he added.

Turkey equates the Kurdish-led SDF with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has waged an armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since 1984. The SDF is a major ally of the U.S.-led international coalition against Islamic State in parts of northern and eastern Syria.

The resumption of dialogue between Ankara and Damascus is expected to be discussed at a meeting scheduled between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana on Wednesday and Thursday. Russia, the Syrian government's main international backer, and Iran have long pushed for a Turkish military withdrawal from Syria.