Turkish, British officials to discuss post-Assad Syria

ANKARA - Turkish and British officials will discuss Syria's future during a meeting in Ankara on Monday, with security, sanctions and economic development on the agenda, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Sunday.

NATO-member Turkey was a main backer of rebels who fought Bashar al-Assad for years and it has forged close ties with the new administration in Damascus following Assad's ouster last year. It has promised to help rebuild Syria and offered assistance to train and equip its security forces.

Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad's fall, but will ensure asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government remain in place.

The Turkish source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday's talks would be led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and British junior Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer.

Yilmaz will emphasise the need for sanctions on Syria to be lifted unconditionally for rebuilding and economic development, the source said.

Yilmaz will also stress "the importance of the international community backing the Syrian administration's steps towards achieving national reconciliation within a central government", and push "to stop Israel's actions openly violating and threatening Syria's sovereignty", the source added.

Reuters reported on Friday that Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria, according to sources familiar with the efforts.

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Sunday Turkey had completed an initial phase of repairs and maintenance, including installing new equipment, at Damascus airport as part of Ankara's efforts to help rebuild the transport hub.

Ocalan's call, prompted by a surprise proposal last October from an ultra-nationalist ally of the Turkish president, has been welcomed by the United States, European Union, and other Western allies, as well as by Turkey's neighbours Iraq and Iran.

"We will closely follow up through our relevant institutions whether the process that has started has been fulfilled by all elements," Erdogan said.

"We will show the utmost caution against any provocation that may arise during this process and take all necessary measures," Erdogan also said.

The PKK has not yet reacted to the call, but the Syrian Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key US ally against Islamic State in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, has said Ocalan's message did not apply to them.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said all Kurdish militia in Iraq and Syria, including the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), must lay down their weapons.

"Regardless of what name it uses, the terrorist organisation must lay down its weapons and disarm itself, along with all its elements and extensions in Iraq and Syria," Celik told reporters.

Also on Friday, Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party called on Erdogan's administration to take immediate steps towards democratisation, stressing that his government's response is critical.

The PKK launched its insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984 and is now based in the mountains of northern Iraq. It is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Ankara has repeatedly called on the YPG to disarm since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last year, warning that it would face military action otherwise.