Media: Türkiye sends signals to Russia amid Syrian crisis

Russia has maintained communication with Türkiye in an effort to clarify the plans of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

This was made in the early days of the rebel offensive that ultimately overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. For its part, Türkiye tried to persuade Russia that long-term support for Assad would be futile, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

Turkish officials also emphasized that strikes on rebel positions could turn future Syrian leadership against Moscow. When the fresh rebel assault started last month, Moscow signaled its ongoing backing for Syria. 

By the second day of the offensive, Russian aircraft were targeting rebel positions, reporting the deaths of "at least 400 militants." After the insurgents broke through into Aleppo, the Kremlin denounced the offensive as an assault on Syrian sovereignty, expressing hope that "Syrian authorities would restore order and reinstate constitutional governance in the region." 

Behind the scenes, Russia was communicating with Türkiye to gather information on HTS’s plans as its fighters advanced south, according to a Western security official. The official also noted that the Turks used these talks to emphasize two key points: supporting Assad in the long run was likely futile, and bombing HTS would only turn Syria’s future leaders against Moscow. 

Two days before Assad fled, some of his Arab allies still seemed to believe he could remain in power. They urgently reached out to Türkiye, with some proposing possible concessions that Assad could offer to the rebels to stop their progress, according to the Turkish official. However, by the next day, they had realized Assad's fate was sealed, leading them to delay a planned Arab League meeting to discuss the situation. 

Despite the mounting evidence of Assad's imminent departure, a sense of denial lingered. Just hours before he fled Syria, the Qatari prime minister left a gala dinner early to attend a meeting with the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq.

According to a regional diplomat briefed on the talks, the focus of the meeting, held on the sidelines of a conference in Doha, was on “how to avoid bloodshed.” After the meeting, a joint statement was released, emphasizing the “need to cease military operations in order to initiate a comprehensive political process.”

By Naila Huseynova