Foreign policy evaluations from Minister Fidan: Messages from Israel, Syria and Greece

In his foreign policy assessment to Turkish press members within the scope of his visit to Syria, Fidan stated that there were extremely critical developments in the region and that they increased their contacts with Syria in this process.

Emphasizing that their stay in Damascus during their two-day visit to Syria is an indication that life in the country has begun to normalize, Fidan stated that they discussed all issues during the meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Shara, which lasted approximately two hours.

Fidan underlined that the threat with the highest potential to destabilize Syria is Israel, and pointed out that other issues related to Syria have been progressing well for two years.

"They removed Syria from the sanctions list, there is no obstacle to economic investments. It was also extremely important that they were removed from the terrorism list." Fidan said that if there is some good governance in an environment where there is stability in Syria, the potential is high and the country needs time.

Fidan said, "Israel does not like the strong and stable neighboring countries. It sees this as a threat to itself. Because of the definition of this threat, it carries out destabilizing actions against these places." He made his evaluation and emphasized that Syria wants to live in peace.

"At some point, Israel will either recognize this approach and agree to live in peace with its region, or it will continue its aggressive policies and become even more isolated within the international community." Giving his statement, Fidan pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees all the countries around him as a threat and that Israel creates its own strength from the weakness of those countries.

Integration process in Syria

Fidan underlined that the first priority is for the SDF to cease being a threat and enemy element in the integration process in Syria and said, "The elements currently announced in principle contain positive messages, we are closely monitoring how the process progresses in practice. We expect the implementation to be compatible with the messages announced to the public." he said.

Stating that they know the current threats and the path to be followed, Fidan stated that they should continue to walk on this path.

Fidan said, "I said that everything had just begun after the regime was overthrown on December 8." he said.

Pointing out that there are good things in terms of tactics and strategy at this point, Fidan said, "Many problems that have been shackles us for 40-50 years, especially the terrorism issue, were actually caused by Syria and Iraq." he stated.

Fidan stated that with the AK Party coming to power, with the will and vision put forward by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they solved the political and economic issues in Türkiye and rebuilt the strategic and security culture oriented to foreign developments, and that they created a security paradigm that responds to today's needs.

Stating that they managed to properly solve the problems arising from neighboring countries, Fidan said, "However, our work is not done on this issue. We will continue to work and make efforts." he said.

Cooperation of regional countries

Fidan pointed out the important results of the joint efforts of the countries in the region, especially on the Gaza issue, and noted that they professionally analyzed the developments in cooperation and solidarity, and that they also used the cooperation there in Syria.

"We are now using this cooperation in the Iran-USA war and are increasingly institutionalizing it. We are making an effort based on cooperation and peaceful diplomacy against Israel's destabilizing role in the region." Fidan said that with this constructive understanding, a greater basin of stability will emerge in the region.

Fidan said, "There are other operations that can be carried out from the perspective of actors who want stability in the region, especially Israel. They will not remain idle, they will also take action." he said.

Stating that the countries in the region see that there can be stability, that something can be done if they work together, and that there is no option other than working together, Fidan said, "We will either work together and solve the problems, or, as in the previous method, we will go to the hegemon or the hegemon's representative here and say 'don't touch me, burn wherever you want'." made his assessment.

Fidan explained that a negative situation experienced in one part of the region also affects other countries and said, "For example, Jordan is affected by all the events in Iraq and all the events in Syria. There is no escape. Therefore, everyone is looking for cooperation in this very intense new period." he said.

Minister Fidan said that it was unprecedented for President Erdoğan to demonstrate vision and leadership at this point and to bring the actors together by using his relationships, and noted that people trusted this process.

Mecca Alliance and developments in Saudi Arabia

Sharing the information that the institutionalization process of the Mecca Alliance continues and that the three countries are meeting on this issue at a technical level, Fidan stated that they discussed issues such as the structure of the General Headquarters of the Alliance and the number of officers and that the process is about to be completed.

Fidan stated that they aim to expand the Mecca Alliance and that more concrete steps will be taken from now on.

"It is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia to be hit from both the south and north and to be targeted by attackers based in Iraq." Fidan said that the Yemen problem has been going on for a long time and has manifested itself in various ways.

Fidan said, "It is not possible for anyone to remain unresponsive when the incident turns into an activity aimed at besieging from the north and south, destroying critical infrastructure, and damaging not only Saudi Arabia but the region." He underlined that they acted in accordance with the spirit of the Mecca Alliance.

Reminding that they emphasized in a written statement that Türkiye stands by Saudi Arabia, Fidan said that they gave the necessary messages to other relevant parties and that they are in solidarity.

Relations with Greece

Fidan said, "We do not want Greece to be the toy of those who want to destabilize the region and drag it into chaos. We want to have good neighborly relations." He emphasized that misunderstandings, especially regarding security, should be prevented both ways.

Underlining that Türkiye is very sensitive about the arming of the islands, Fidan said, "They know this, we conveyed this. The arming of the islands, which have unarmed status, is a threat to us. Of course, there is also an election process there. Anti-Türkiye sentiment is historically common in Greek politics." He stated:

Fidan said, "One of the issues we focus our attention on most is Greece's efforts to violate its contractual obligations on the islands, which have been given non-military status by international agreements and this status should unquestionably be maintained." He noted that this has been happening since the 1960s and constitutes an important dimension of the interconnected Aegean problems.

Emphasizing that Türkiye has shown the necessary reaction since the 1960s, Fidan pointed out that warnings and objections were conveyed to Greece through bilateral channels when necessary, and that Türkiye's position in NATO was put forward when necessary and the issue was brought to the United Nations (UN).

Fidan said, "We invite our neighbor and ally, Greece, to fulfill its contractual obligations in a more mature manner, in line with the spirit of alliance. While there are so many security challenges around us, Greece should not add a new one to these." He stated that the positive atmosphere towards the solution that has been initiated recently should be developed and maintained.

Minister Fidan also shared the information that discussions regarding the S-400 air defense systems and technical negotiations between all relevant countries are continuing.

Terror-free Türkiye process

Stating that he witnessed a great acceptance of the "Terror-Free Türkiye" process during his visit to Diyarbakır, Fidan conveyed the impression that the goal set by the process was adopted.

Reminding that they came together with many non-governmental organizations and people from different political views, Fidan said, "The fact that the organization declared to lay down arms created great satisfaction among the society." he said.

Fidan said that now there is an understanding about discussing the problems without weapons, and noted that the public expects economic issues and development to come to the fore.

Fidan stated that the issues of how industry and infrastructure can be developed in the region, where border gates should be placed and how trade with neighboring countries can be increased were discussed at the meetings.

Minister Fidan said, "There has been no armed issue for 5-6 years anyway. But the fact that this will end permanently will ensure that big investments will come there without fear. People especially care about the fact that identity denial has been lifted with the AK Party. After the optional language was opened in Türkiye with the Democratization Package in September 2013, the issue of identity denial, which is the problem area of ​​the Kurds, has been solved."