President Erdogan may meet Syria’s leader Assad in Astana: Turkish Columnist

Following normalization announcements from Türkiye and Syria, all eyes are now on the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Scheduled for July 3-4, a major point of interest is whether a face-to-face meeting will occur between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad.

Journalist Abdulkadir Selvi mentioned that he inquired about this matter from diplomatic sources. Selvi noted that while the sources did not confirm a meeting between Erdogan and Assad, none of them outright denied the possibility either.

Selvi implied that such meetings are often planned with a high degree of secrecy, citing the example of the Türkiye-Egypt normalization.

“During the opening match of the World Cup in Qatar, we were suddenly taken out of the stadium, being told that President Erdogan might leave for Türkiye during the second half. In reality, President Erdogan was meeting with Egyptian President (Abdel-Fattah) el-Sissi just a short distance away. It was only after the match concluded, and we were preparing to board the plane, that we learned of the meeting,” he said.

Selvi’s speculation is fueled by Assad’s recent remarks about potentially starting normalization with Türkiye focusing on counter-terrorism, and Erdogan’s willingness to engage in such talks.

During the Arab Spring, Türkiye supported the democratization of Syria and backed moderate opposition groups. Now, the refugee issue and counterterrorism are seen as key topics that could facilitate cooperation between the two countries.