ANKARA: Syrian peace efforts by Russia, Turkey and Iran moved into overdrive on Sunday with a foreign ministers’ meeting to be followed by a summit this week involving the three countries’ presidents.
Sergei Lavrov, Mevlut Cavosoglu and Javad Zarif met in the Turkish city of Antalya to discuss progress toward a political settlement and access to humanitarian aid. On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani will meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia.
The three countries are sponsors and guarantors of the Astana peace process, a series of talks in Kazakhstan that have led to the establishment of cease-fire and de-escalation zones in four areas of Syria. The process runs in tandem with UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.
Although Ankara initially differed with Tehran and Moscow over the Syrian conflict, over the years they have found common ground. Turkey has recently increased its criticism of US policy on Syria, blaming Washington for not keeping promises about a withdrawal by the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from areas liberated from Daesh.
Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.
“There is a growing assessment” that the US is using Daesh and the Syrian Kurds “as an excuse to remain in eastern Syria as a potential counterweighing force against the Russian-Iranian presence,” Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote in the Daily Sabah newspaper.
He said Wednesday’s summit in Sochi was “an extension of the Astana process and complements rather than replaces the Geneva process.
“For both platforms to produce concrete and sustainable results, however, all stakeholders should contribute with a view toward protecting Syria’s territorial integrity and providing freedom and safety for all Syrians within the parameters of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.”
The resolution, unanimously adopted in December 2015, calls for an end to violence, a political settlement and elections within 18 months.
Gulriz Sen, an Iran expert at TOBB University in Ankara, said the fundamental divergence between Turkey and Iran over the fate of the Assad regime seems to have dissipated with the start of the Astana talks in January.
“The Astana talks strengthened diplomatic contacts and ties between Turkey and Iran on the Syrian issue,” Sen told Arab News.
“Turkey’s interests in Syria are more concentrated in the north of the country, with particular sensitivity over the fate of the main Syrian-Kurdish political party, the PYD (Democratic Union Party), and the Kurdish cantons.”
Sen said Syria’s borders with Iraq, Israel and Lebanon held strategic significance for Iran.
“Albeit on the same diplomatic table and in cooperation, Iran and Turkey are still competitors for further influence on the future of Syria,” she said. “But both states are aligned in keeping Russia as a counterweight to the US presence and strategies in Syria.”
The PYD/YPG issue is a red line for Turkey, which is against their participation in a conference sponsored by Russia to discuss reconciliation and a political settlement in Syria, planned for next month.
“Our sensitivity about the PYD/YPG is obvious. The participation of these terrorist groups would be unacceptable for Turkey,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after Sunday’s meeting.
The increasing number of meetings between the three countries suggests that it is crucial for Russia to have the other two on board with its diplomatic initiatives, Timur Akhmetov, a researcher at the Russian International Affairs Council, a Kremlin think tank, told Arab News.
“Russia is aware that regional powers are allergic to interventions in Middle Eastern affairs from any outside powers,” he said. “Besides, Russia can’t ignore these players’ concerns due to their capacity to influence things on the ground in Syria and elsewhere in the region.
“All this necessitates closer coordination of efforts and synchronization of policy decisions between Russia and these two powers.”
None of the three countries think the Astana process enjoys sufficient international legitimacy, and the Syrian opposition is not ready to engage in definitive negotiations outside the Geneva process, Akhmetov said. “So the Astana and Sochi initiatives should, in the end, invigorate the Geneva meetings.”
The eighth round of Astana talks take place in the second half of December.
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Astana peace process for Syria moves into overdrive
Astana peace process for Syria moves into overdrive
Somaliland’s Israel deal could put Berbera port at risk
BERBERA: Somaliland says its recognition by Israel could be a boon for its Berbera port. But with missiles flying across the region, it could also be a target.
Berbera port on the Gulf of Aden has been transformed by the United Arab Emirates firm DP World over the past decade into a state-of-the-art facility on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Berbera still handles far fewer containers than nearby Djibouti or Mombasa, but port traffic was up 30 percent from 2023 to 2025, and recent diplomatic moves could lead to much more.
A deal under negotiation with Ethiopia, a landlocked neighbor with more than 130 million inhabitants, could see traffic rise by another 80 percent, said port authority director Ali Diriye Ahmed.
Ethiopia did not respond to queries on the subject.
And Israel’s recent decision to recognize Somaliland’s independence — the first country to do so since it declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991 — promises a “tremendous increase,” said Ahmed, already envisioning an expansion of the port.
But an alliance with Israel also brings risks, particularly as the US-Israeli attacks on Iran this weekend increase the threat of regional war.
Abdel Malek Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, had already warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target.”
“We really don’t know what is going on there. Sometimes there are 20 planes coming in a week,” said a DP World employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“There is a widespread assumption that there is an Israeli military or security presence that is already in the country,” a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, though any military cooperation will remain secretive.
If their presence was confirmed at the Emirati base, it could leave the port vulnerable to Houthi or Iranian missiles.
There is also a more local threat from Al-Shabab, the Somali affiliate of Al-Qaeda, that has said it will oppose any attempt by Israel to use Somaliland.
Somaliland authorities “only saw the recognition, without thinking about the future,” fears Roland Marchal, a regional specialist based at France’s Sciences Po university.
’Contribute to peace’
Hargeisa initially denied any negotiations regarding an Israeli military base on its soil, only to recently indicate that “nothing is off the table.”
“We are not partnering with Israel to be against anyone,” said Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency and adviser to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Somaliland “wants to contribute to peace in the region,” he told AFP.
In Berbera, a peaceful but little-developed city of 70,000, the atmosphere remains optimistic.
Its mayor, Abdishakur Mohamoud Hassan, said population numbers and tax revenues had soared since DP World took control of the port, allowing for free primary schools and new health clinics.
With Israel’s recognition, “we expect this city to develop similarly to Dubai,” he said with a smile, adding that he was “not afraid” of attacks by Israel’s enemies.
“If a country like Ukraine has been resisting Russia for years, we too will not be intimidated by the Houthis,” he said.
Berbera port on the Gulf of Aden has been transformed by the United Arab Emirates firm DP World over the past decade into a state-of-the-art facility on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Berbera still handles far fewer containers than nearby Djibouti or Mombasa, but port traffic was up 30 percent from 2023 to 2025, and recent diplomatic moves could lead to much more.
A deal under negotiation with Ethiopia, a landlocked neighbor with more than 130 million inhabitants, could see traffic rise by another 80 percent, said port authority director Ali Diriye Ahmed.
Ethiopia did not respond to queries on the subject.
And Israel’s recent decision to recognize Somaliland’s independence — the first country to do so since it declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991 — promises a “tremendous increase,” said Ahmed, already envisioning an expansion of the port.
But an alliance with Israel also brings risks, particularly as the US-Israeli attacks on Iran this weekend increase the threat of regional war.
Abdel Malek Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, had already warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target.”
“We really don’t know what is going on there. Sometimes there are 20 planes coming in a week,” said a DP World employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“There is a widespread assumption that there is an Israeli military or security presence that is already in the country,” a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, though any military cooperation will remain secretive.
If their presence was confirmed at the Emirati base, it could leave the port vulnerable to Houthi or Iranian missiles.
There is also a more local threat from Al-Shabab, the Somali affiliate of Al-Qaeda, that has said it will oppose any attempt by Israel to use Somaliland.
Somaliland authorities “only saw the recognition, without thinking about the future,” fears Roland Marchal, a regional specialist based at France’s Sciences Po university.
’Contribute to peace’
Hargeisa initially denied any negotiations regarding an Israeli military base on its soil, only to recently indicate that “nothing is off the table.”
“We are not partnering with Israel to be against anyone,” said Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency and adviser to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Somaliland “wants to contribute to peace in the region,” he told AFP.
In Berbera, a peaceful but little-developed city of 70,000, the atmosphere remains optimistic.
Its mayor, Abdishakur Mohamoud Hassan, said population numbers and tax revenues had soared since DP World took control of the port, allowing for free primary schools and new health clinics.
With Israel’s recognition, “we expect this city to develop similarly to Dubai,” he said with a smile, adding that he was “not afraid” of attacks by Israel’s enemies.
“If a country like Ukraine has been resisting Russia for years, we too will not be intimidated by the Houthis,” he said.
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