Israel has never wanted Bashar al-Assad to go: Turkish FM Fidan

In an exclusive interview with Saudi Arabia-based Al Hadath television, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed the need for greater regional cooperation, the protection of borders, and a focus on mutual interests to address the ongoing challenges in the Middle East.

We are now connected by history, geography, culture and faith, we have become flesh and blood. Therefore, when this troubled period in Syria began, the Syrian opposition in the north leaned on Türkiye, and especially millions of displaced refugees have made Türkiye their homeland, their home, and we have welcomed them with open arms.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Fidan urges regional cooperation

During the interview, FM Fidan emphasized the importance of cooperation in the Middle East, stating, “Now, we need to come together and, within a culture of cooperation, respect each other’s borders and sovereignty, go beyond respect, pledge to protect each other, and shoulder to shoulder, establish our own interests and order in the region.”

Fidan underscored that the region has experienced turmoil for the last 20-30 years and needs to break free from this cycle of conflict. “The region has now learned enough lessons to break free from this vicious cycle,” he added.

Either he had to share power with his own people, make peace with his people, or share power with external hegemons, powers, forces that were defending him against his people. Of course, when he shared this power with Russia and Iran, they fought together, they couldn’t take the decisions they wanted because each country had different interests, and after a certain point, when Assad failed to reconcile with his people, to bring back millions of people, to provide services to the people already in Syria, to provide basic services, to provide services to the economy, the system collapsed by itself.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

The Syrian conflict and Türkiye’s role

Fidan touched upon Türkiye’s longstanding relationship with Syria, including shared borders that stretch 911 kilometers.

He explained how the civil war in Syria led to millions of displaced Syrians seeking refuge in Türkiye. He noted that Türkiye has worked tirelessly to find a constructive solution to the Syrian crisis, particularly through the Astana process, a diplomatic initiative designed to bring stability to Syria.

Iran and Russia also share the regime’s views, we have taken it to a certain point. We have a very mutually respectful relationship with them, we know each other and we talked to them when the process started. There is no point in repeating the same scenario of 2006, 2016, 2015. Bashar al-Assad, unfortunately, you came to his aid, you helped him to repel the opposition, but he failed to provide services to his people, to revive the system, to reconcile with his people, and this is what we are facing today.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

However, Fidan pointed out that the Syrian regime under President Bashar al-Assad has been reluctant to engage in meaningful peace efforts. “Either he would have to share power with his people and make peace with them, or he would have to share power with external hegemonic forces that supported him against his people,” he explained.

Fidan also denied rumors suggesting that international actors had agreed on Assad’s departure, which allegedly led to the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

He clarified, “After the operation began by HTS and other opposition forces, we made every effort to ensure it was carried out in the least violent, least problematic, and most cost-effective way.”

How should countries in the region and the world communicate with the new administration in Damascus? Through our contacts, we saw a general perception and demand there and there were certain principles that everyone more or less agreed on. These are that terrorist organizations should not take advantage of Damascus in the new period, and especially minorities should be treated well… Christians, Kurds, Alawites, Turkmens in particular. And then there were various views, such as the establishment of an inclusive government, and that it should not be a threat to its neighbors.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Intense diplomacy for a lasting peace in Syria

Fidan detailed Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts to resolve issues within the Syrian conflict. He explained that intense communication between Türkiye, Russia, and Iran has been vital to ensuring ceasefire agreements and resolving disputes.

There is only one sensitive transition period here, and that is the consolidation of the groups that make up the Syrian opposition, namely the groups in the north, the Syrian National Army, the National Liberation Front and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and there were groups in the south. It is important for these groups to consolidate in a process. This is a sensitive process.

I think this process will be managed well, and we are doing our best to help in this regard. Because once security and public order are stabilized, the processes related to the economy, trade, development, infrastructure, and providing basic services to citizens can be started rapidly.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Fidan also emphasized that Türkiye works to represent the opposition’s interests, while Russia and Iran typically represent the Syrian regime.

Especially the Syrian National Army, the National Liberation Front, these were the places where Türkiye worked one-on-one. There were 4 million Syrian citizens living in Idlib under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). It was possible for them to come to Türkiye during a certain crisis. Of course, we have always been in a certain coordination in order to prevent these crises and to maintain a stable presence there, and in that process, we had the opportunity to get to know the delegation.

We have always conveyed our recommendations and advice to them, especially on how to perceive modern governance, how to have modern governance systems. What we see now is that the number one priority of the delegation and other components is not to repeat the mistakes made by Bashar al-Assad and to embrace the people and bring them the prosperity and stability they deserve. We need to help them do this and they should not make mistakes.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

In addition, he pointed to the visit of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Head, Ibrahim Kalin, to Damascus, noting that the visit came after consultations with both regional and Western powers.

The discussions focused on preventing terrorist groups from exploiting the situation and ensuring the fair treatment of minority groups in Syria, such as Kurds, Christians, and Turkmens.

We need to develop this language in the region, we don’t want Iranian dominance, we don’t want Turkish dominance, we don’t want Arab dominance. Neither the Arabs in the Gulf should dominate each other, nor should they dominate anywhere else, nor should we dominate anywhere else, nor should the Iranians dominate anywhere else. Now all the states, we are moving from 2024 to 2025, they have matured to the necessary extent, their infrastructure is strong. There is a very strong Saudi Arabia, there is a very strong United Arab Emirates, there is a very influential Qatar, Kuwait. Egypt is really doing its best.

It’s time for us to come together and establish our own interests, our own order in the region, shoulder to shoulder, in a culture of cooperation, respecting each other’s borders, respecting each other’s sovereignty, going beyond respect, committing to protect each other.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Avoiding regional domination

Fidan made it clear that Türkiye seeks to avoid the domination of any one country in the Middle East, whether by Iran, Türkiye, or Arab states. “We don’t want Iranian domination, Turkish domination, or Arab domination,” he stated.

He urged regional countries to work together and mature beyond old rivalries, stating that cooperation would bring greater stability to the region.

When the Syrian opposition was doing what they are doing now in Damascus 6-7 years ago, then (U.S. President Joe) Biden was the Vice President, he came to Türkiye, he met with our President and he said ‘we don’t want Bashar to go.’ We know that this was not his opinion, it was Israel’s opinion. Israel has never wanted Bashar to go. Israel was unhappy with the environment that Bashar gave to the Iranians, but it knew that Bashar was a useful actor for it in general.

Israel did not want Bashar to go until the last day, even after the start of the operation, which the Americans told us.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

He also recognized that countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt are now in a position to collaborate on critical issues such as military, political, and economic alliances.

We are all related to each other, we are all Muslims, we are all of the same religion. It is possible to come together and define our interests, desires and sensitivities with great maturity and professionalism and form alliances with each other, just as alliances are formed in Europe, North America and elsewhere, economically, politically, militarily, all of these can be done in this geography.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

The issue of Syrian refugees

The Foreign Minister also addressed the plight of the Syrian refugees, noting that more than 10 million Syrians have been displaced, with many seeking refuge in neighboring countries like Türkiye.

Fidan stressed that the return of these refugees to their homes is vital for both Syria’s recovery and the alleviation of pressure on host countries.

I see that the new administration is developing a very careful style of diplomatic relations in Syria and using a careful diplomatic language, but there used to be a saying in the old days, ‘trust but verify’ in these verification issues. Here, of course, there will be trust in what is being said, but we will all see how things go.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

He reiterated that Syria must evolve into a civil and democratic state, free from divisions and discrimination. “We want both a civilian and democratic state in Syria,” he concluded.

This is our message. The idea of dominance, imperial ideas need to be shelved. Someone is trying to rule other countries in the region by using proxies, someone is trying to do something else by giving money in the background, trying to protect their interests… These actions produce a counter-reaction, the reaction produces another action and we enter into a vicious circle. The region has now learned enough lessons to get out of this vicious circle. Our region has been in an incredibly big fire spiral for the last 20-30 years.

Those in the Gulf have been affected by the Yemen problem, we have been affected by the Iraq and Syria problem. I think Iran will also learn lessons in the new period, we need to help Iran in a constructive way.

I believe that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan can come together and take very serious steps to solve critical problems in the region, and we have started to do so with the meeting in Aqaba. The important thing is that the states are sincere.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan