A banner of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is waved as members of the Syrian community and supporters gather to celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the face of the Islamist rebel offensive, in Istanbul, Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Yasin Akgul/AFP)
During a speech on Saturday in Gaziantep, one of Turkey's border towns most affected by the influx of Syrian refugees, Recep Tayyip Erdogan could hardly contain his enthusiasm.As Syrian rebels advanced rapidly toward Damascus, taking over the presidential palace within hours and declaring the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Turkish president predicted a “new diplomatic and political reality in Syria” that Ankara “could not ignore.”Erdogan’s statement comes after more than a decade of backing Syria's armed opposition. Read also After a bitter failure, Iran reaches out to Syria’s new leaders “After the Syrian people, the biggest winner is Turkey. When everyone abandoned the Syrian opposition, only Turkey was present and continued to support it. Today, it's paying off,” said Ömer Özkizilcik, a foreign policy analyst based in...
During a speech on Saturday in Gaziantep, one of Turkey's border towns most affected by the influx of Syrian refugees, Recep Tayyip Erdogan could hardly contain his enthusiasm.As Syrian rebels advanced rapidly toward Damascus, taking over the presidential palace within hours and declaring the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Turkish president predicted a “new diplomatic and political reality in Syria” that Ankara “could not ignore.”Erdogan’s statement comes after more than a decade of backing Syria's armed opposition. Read also After a bitter failure, Iran reaches out to Syria’s new leaders “After the Syrian people, the biggest winner is Turkey. When everyone abandoned the Syrian opposition, only Turkey was present and continued to support it. Today, it's paying off,” said Ömer Özkizilcik, a foreign policy...