Between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia... Will Damascus usher in a phase of balanced foreign relations?

The new Syrian administration, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, is taking rapid steps towards strengthening Damascus’ foreign relations at the regional and international levels, in line with Syria’s strategic position in the region, which places it on the intersection of regional circles of influence between Turkey and the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia.

It appeared from the program of foreign visits that Sharaa began implementing after assuming the presidency during the transitional phase that there was a will in Damascus to strengthen bilateral relations with both Ankara and Riyadh in a balanced manner in anticipation of Syria being drawn into a bias that could cause the devastated country to become exhausted, according to observers who spoke to "Arabi21."

In his first visit, the Syrian President headed to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and then performed the Umrah rituals at the end of the visit.

On Tuesday, Sharaa arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on his second foreign visit, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss several issues between the two countries, including economic recovery, stability and sustainable security.

The visit, which is the first of its kind by a Syrian president in about 15 years, opens the door for the two countries to discuss security risks in particular, as the file of the "People's Protection Units", which form the backbone of what is known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), constitutes a pressing file on both sides.

While Turkey sees these forces controlling northeastern Syria as a threat to its national security due to their links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Damascus seeks to unify all Syrian territories under its control again to prevent the risk of dividing the country or entering into a new war.

A Syrian presidential official told Reuters that Sharaa will discuss with Erdogan "the training of the Turkish armed forces for the new Syrian army, in addition to new areas of deployment and cooperation," without specifying the deployment locations.

A senior regional intelligence official who spoke to Reuters said the two possible locations for the air bases were the Syrian army's Tadmur military airport and T-4 airport, both in Homs province.

He added that Ankara is keen to establish bases there as a message to Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria known as the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed that the presence of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the SDF, in northeastern Syria is not justified after the fall of the Assad regime, and have repeatedly threatened to launch military operations to eliminate this presence.

balance of regional powers

With the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, the new administration received dozens of regional and international delegations in a scene that reflected a cautious welcome from the international community to the historic transformation that the country had witnessed.

While Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was the first high-ranking official to arrive in the capital Damascus after the fall of the regime, Arab delegations were widely present at the scene at the level of foreign ministers, especially the Gulf states.

Last week, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, arrived at the head of a high-level delegation to the capital, Damascus, in the first visit by a head of state after the fall of the ousted regime.

The Syrian government seeks to achieve a balance in its relations with Türkiye and the Arab countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, which was clear in the first two foreign visits made by the Syrian president.

Speaking about the possibility of competition between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to extend influence in Syria, Al-Sakri believes that the matter is completely the opposite, as there is no competition in the Turkish-Saudi case as much as there is an attempt to balance relations between Riyadh and Ankara.

The researcher at the Harmoon Center explained in his interview with "Arabi21" that "Ankara is satisfied with this balance that the new Syrian government, represented by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is performing."

He stresses that "the policy of positive neutrality, or what is called zero problems with the actors in the region, will certainly have a fundamental impact on the Syrian issue in particular and the region in general," noting that Turkey believes that these areas occupied by the Syrian government are beneficial to it at this time.

For his part, Turkish researcher Ali Asmar confirms that “Ankara views the growing Arab role in the Syrian file positively, and considers it part of a more comprehensive regional approach that also includes Iraq and major economic projects such as the development road.”

In his interview with Arabi21, he points out that the visits of Turkish officials to Damascus opened the door to a series of Arab and Western meetings regarding Syria, noting that Turkish-Arab coordination is not only regarding Syria, but also regarding Iraq and security and economic cooperation such as the development road project and the Qatari gas pipeline in Syria.

According to Asmar, Turkey believes that the success of the transitional phase in Syria is a collective responsibility, noting that Turkish-Arab coordination is not limited to Syria, but also includes the Palestinian issue, which contributes to strengthening the unity of the regional ranks in the face of foreign interventions.

The Turkish researcher explains that “the statements issued by the Syrian Interim Government are balanced, which is a positive thing that we hope will continue, but we cannot ignore the geographical facts. Turkey and Syria share a border that extends for 911 km, which makes it necessary to build strong relations between the two sides, whether from a security, economic, or even social perspective, especially since the threats and challenges are common between them.”

Arabic 21