Main opposition leader Ozel to visit Damascus amid Türkiye-Syria normalization efforts

As efforts continue to normalize Türkiye-Syria relations, Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition party CHP, announced his intention to visit Damascus.

In his statement, Ozel said, “We will visit Damascus with a delegation very soon. We will make this visit within July.”

Stressing the need to resolve the refugee issue, Ozel added, “Everyone should show their will to solve the refugee issue in Türkiye.”

Recently, Ozel had also expressed his willingness to mediate between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syria’s regime leader Bashar Assad.

“We’ve been telling Erdogan for years, ‘Talk to Assad or our problems won’t be solved.’ Initially, the president said, ‘We don’t talk to killers.’ Later, they began saying, ‘We’re in talks at the intelligence level.’ This stance continues today. We’ve always supported this, but Assad insists on the withdrawal of Turkish Armed Forces from northern Syria as a condition for meeting Erdogan,” Ozel said.

At this point, I can mediate directly with Assad to eliminate the problems between Türkiye and Syria. I can mediate talks that will ensure a peaceful environment for Türkiye and Syria to sit at the table and for the refugees living in Türkiye to return to Syria. For this reason, I am planning to meet with Assad directly as soon as possible,” he added.

During the Syrian Civil War that erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring, Türkiye supported demands for the democratization of Syria and collaborated with moderate opposition groups. The discussions on normalization began when Assad expressed his willingness to cooperate with Türkiye in combating terrorism. President Erdogan also indicated that he could meet with Assad.