The Kremlin revealed on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in the Middle East and the efforts of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end the years-long hostility between Ankara and Damascus.
"We will extend our invitation (to Assad); with this invitation, we want to restore Turkey-Syria relations to the same level as in the past. Our invitation may be extended at any time," Erdogan said in early July.
Assad and Putin met for the first time since March 2023. Russia is Syria's main ally and its primary supplier of arms. The Russian military fought with the Syrian regime forces during the civil war and succeeded in defeating most of the insurgency. Moscow also enjoys strong ties with Ankara, despite Turkey's membership in NATO, and Putin and Erdogan are reportedly in close contact and communicate often.
When the civil war in Syria began in 2011, Erdogan sided with the opposition to bring down Assad's regime. The Turkish leader called Assad a murderer. But since the insurgency was put down, there has been a shift in Ankara's rhetoric and a clear effort to improve bilateral ties.
These efforts to normalize relations with Syria stem at least partially from Turkey's internal security interests. Erdogan hopes that improved ties will facilitate the return of the Syrian refugees currently in Turkey, who are a burden on the local economy, to their country.
Erdogan also hopes to defeat what he calls the "terror corridor," in northern Syria where Kurdish and ISIS forces, hostile to the Turks, have been operating. Since 2016, Turkish military forces conducted several operations against the Kurds and Islamic State fighters and have gained control of two strips of Syrian territory near the Turkish-Syria border.
The Kremlin confirmed that the relations between Ankara and Damascus were discussed in the meeting between Putin and Assad including a possible summit with Erdogan.