Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara on July 8 to participate in meetings on the sidelines of an important NATO Summit. This comes after a two-day visit by France’s President Emmanuel Macron to Damascus.
For Sharaa, the meetings in Ankara will have great meaning for the future of Syria. Turkey is a key supporter of Damascus and Sharaa has also received support from other NATO members, including the United States.
Video of the Syrian leader's arrival showed him disembarking from a plane in Ankara. He flew into Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport.
“President Sharaa was welcomed by Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and several Turkish officials,” Syrian state media SANA noted. He then arrived at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Wednesday, according to Syrian state media.
Syrian state media added that “the visit coincides with the 36th NATO Summit, which is being held in Ankara on July 7-8 and hosted by Türkiye, as the alliance faces a range of regional and global security challenges.”
Syria seeks to anchor its relationship with NATO members
It also noted that “several leaders are attending the summit, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the leaders of Finland, Slovakia, Italy, Canada, Bulgaria, Albania and Montenegro.”
The meetings over the next day will be important for Syria as it seeks to anchor its relationship with NATO members. In Jerusalem, there are concerns about Syria one day emerging as a potential threat. In addition, Israeli and Turkish officials have recently been involved in a war of words.
Israeli leaders view Ankara as a potential emerging threat. However, Turkey is a member of NATO, and Israel will not want to get involved in a clash with a NATO member. On the other hand, Israel enjoys warm ties with Greece, which is a NATO member.
The question of Syria is important in the Middle East. It is trying to rebuild after years of civil war. Turkey played a role in that conflict.
First of all, Turkey backed the Syrian rebels. However, later Turkey worked with Russia and Iran to try to reduce conflict in Syria. This followed the Syrian regime’s advance into Aleppo near the Turkish border in 2016.
Turkey then shifted focus to fighting the Kurdish YPG in Syria, accusing them of being linked to the PKK. Turkey invaded the Kurdish region of Afrin in 2018 and then Serekaniyeh in 2019.
Kurds integrating with Syrian security forces, Turkey backs new government
The US, which was backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, weighed withdrawing from Syria at the time. Now Turkey is seeking a different role in Syria, backing the new government. The Kurdish forces are integrating with the new Damascus security Forces.
Syria’s president issued a statement regarding Macron's visit to Damascus on July 6-7.
“Our discussions resulted in practical steps to strengthen cooperation between our two countries, most notably an agreement to exchange ambassadors, and the signing of a number of strategic agreements and Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of energy and reconstruction, in a manner that advances the aspirations of our two peoples and supports efforts towards development and stability,” Sharaa noted.
As such, Syria’s president is emerging from one set of success stories, with the French leader's visit, to another potential success at the NATO summit.
The challenge will be for Syria to ensure it gets the time it wants with key leaders, including the US president. US President Donald Trump is now focused on Iran tensions after clashes overnight in the Persian Gulf.
According to Turkey’s TRT, “US President Donald Trump has said he was very upset with NATO as he met with the military alliance's chief, Mark Rutte, at the opening of a key summit in Ankara.”
As such, Trump has many issues on his plate even as the Syrian leader arrived.