Turkey suggests road map for solution in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said on Monday that the solution in Syria has become closer than any time before, pointing out that reaching a comprehensive solution requires three steps with the contribution of regional players.

In an interview with the Turkish newspaper, Karar, Yildirim suggested a road map based on the principle of settling the conflict in cooperation with regional players.

The road map is based on three main points: Preserving the unity of the Syrian territories, preventing the PYD, which is PKK’s affiliate in Syria, from establishing its federal project, and re-establishing the Syrian state, provided that it should not be established on sectarian or regional bases, then having Syrians brought back to their country according to a specific timetable.

Yilidrim stressed that the solution should be based on the principle of the unity of the Syrian territories, so any core for a state like PYD is seeking to establish cannot be allowed.

“The new Syrian state will not be based on any sectarian, ethnic, or regional structures. The Syrian state will be re-structured in order to uproot the current bloody problem prevailing right now. As the new state will not be sectarian, this means that Bashar Assad should have no presence on the long run,” Yilidrim told Karar hinting at the acceptance of Assad at the beginning of the transitional period.

“Regarding the most important part for Turkey, all of the Syrian refugees, who were forced to leave their Syria to neighboring countries, will be sent back according to a clear timetable, including those in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and other places where Syrians are found,” Yildirim added.