Türkiye's heavyweights

The visit of European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen to Ankara is an opportunity for Türkiye to increase its influence and open up more opportunities to join the European Union (EU).

EC President Ursula von der Leyen and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Source: ec.europa.eu)

The choice of Türkiye as the only country on Ursula von der Leyen’s visit shows that the EU understands Ankara’s important role in the Syria it is seeking to engage with. Türkiye is the main backer of the opposition forces that overthrew President al-Assad and currently controls the capital Damascus.

In addition, the “air bridge” that the EC wants to establish to transport aid to Syria will have to pass through Turkish territory. The repatriation of Syrian refugees after the civil war cannot be done without the role of Türkiye, where more than 3 million Syrians are currently taking refuge.

During her meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ursula von der Leyen raised the main issues of maintaining Syria's territorial integrity, stability and reconstruction. In particular, the EU is concerned about preventing terrorist groups from taking advantage of the instability in Syria to rise up.

For Türkiye, in addition to the Syria issue, Ankara will certainly take advantage of this opportunity to promote its accession to the EU, a "dream" that has been hindered for the past 37 years by conflicts over human rights, democracy and judicial independence between Türkiye and the EU.

But Ankara’s position is changing. Türkiye is now a major economic partner of the EU, with bilateral trade reaching €206 billion in 2023. It once confidently declared that it could help the EU become a global power. The EU itself acknowledged that Türkiye is a key player in the region. Now it is up to Türkiye to prevent a repeat of the horrors in Syria that have occurred in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

Those are the powerful cards that Ankara used to open the door to the EU when discussing with Ms. Ursula von der Leyen about the future of Syria.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nhung-con-bai-nang-ky-cua-tho-nhi-ky-297953.html