The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Friday urged the Turkish government to cooperate with Syria based on a 1998 agreement between the two countries that Russian President Vladimir Putin brought up a few days ago.
CHP deputy chairman and former ambassador Ünal Çeviköz made a press statement on Friday after Putin called on Turkey to consider the 1998 “Adana Agreement” between Turkey and Syria that allows mutual cooperation against terrorism.
Çeviköz stated that the CHP reminds of the necessity of cooperation with Syria in terms of counterterrorism based on the principle of reciprocity. The former ambassador also added that it was “saddening” for Turkey to take steps in foreign policy under outside pressure.
The Adana Agreement stipulates coordination between Syria and Turkey in counterterrorism. Turkey has the right to respond to threats coming from Syrian territory since Syria recognizes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization.
The agreement surfaced in the news after Putin brought it up in talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
However, such coordination requires dialogue and diplomatic ties with embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey, since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, has ruled out any dialogue with the Assad regime while lending significant support to the opposition forces in Syria.