Turkish Minister: We seek to conclude an agreement with Syria on the demarcation of maritime borders

Turkey aims to reach an agreement with Syria on demarcating maritime borders after a permanent government is formed in Damascus, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Oraloglu said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Turkey backed the Syrian opposition that ousted President Bashar al-Assad this month, ending a 13-year civil war, and is in close contact with the new interim government there in ways that have included having Turkey's intelligence chief and foreign minister meet Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that Ankara would improve relations with Syria in areas including trade, energy and defence.

Oraloglu told reporters that Türkiye also intends to start negotiations with the new Syrian government on a possible agreement to demarcate the maritime border.

“Of course, an authority must be established there first… It will certainly be on our agenda, but it is difficult to say that it is on the current agenda,” he added.

He added that the maritime border demarcation agreement will be in accordance with international law, allowing the two countries to define the powers to explore for oil and hydrocarbons.