EXCLUSIVE: Turkey paving way for Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa to meet Iraqi officials in Antalya

Turkish officials are preparing to organise a meeting between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Iraqi government officials on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, due to begin on Saturday, according to senior Iraqi government sources who spoke to The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition.

Following the Assad regime's collapse on 8 December and the formation of the new Syrian administration, the Iraqi government has adopted a hardline stance towards developments in Damascus.

This position has been driven by Iran-aligned factions that oppose any rapprochement with Syria under its new leaders.

However, there has been a positive shift in the positions of Iraqi officials in recent weeks, culminating in Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani's visit to Baghdad last month.

While there, he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani and other government officials, and an agreement was reached regarding coordination and cooperation on numerous issues, including security.

On Wednesday, a senior Iraqi official in Baghdad told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: "The Turkish side is preparing the ground for fringe meetings between Iraqi officials and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa."

The official (who spoke on condition of anonymity) added: "The Turkish Foreign Ministry is facilitating these efforts on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, next Saturday, where Sharaa will be present, along with prominent Iraqi officials."

Will Sudani and Sharaa meet in Antalya?

The official said that while the Turkish side had been working on the arrangements to include a meeting between Sudani and Sharaa, this had not yet been confirmed on Sudani's part as of Wednesday morning.

"What is certain for now is that other the Iraqi officials attending include Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and the president of Iraq's Kurdistan region Nechirvan Barzani."

The official also spoke of "matters that require cooperation between Syria and Iraq, in which Turkey also has shared interests—most notably security cooperation, border control, ISIS, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and Euphrates River water quotas for Iraq and Syria, among other issues."

The fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum will be held this year from 11-13 April under the patronage of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

The annual conference, which is organised by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and sees broad international participation, will this year be held under the theme "Reclaiming Diplomacy in a Fragmented World".

On Tuesday, Erdogan said: "The fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum will discuss the genocide in Gaza with heads of state, and we will explore ways to end the injustice."

Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) also announced that the Syrian president would be visiting Turkey on April 11 to participate in the forum.

Commenting on the expected Syrian-Iraqi meetings, Iraqi political affairs researcher Ahmad al-Naemi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani was "under pressure from the right-wing faction allied with Iran regarding any steps toward a rapprochement with the new Syria."

Naemi added: "Sudani may decline the meeting to avoid political ramifications at home from Tehran's allies, especially leaders of the Coordination Framework, like Nouri al-Maliki and Qais al-Khazali".

He believes Turkey's efforts to arrange the meeting are part of "Ankara's keenness to forge a cooperative atmosphere between Baghdad and Damascus, which could serve its interests significantly - particularly on the Kurdish issue, security around ISIS, and even the economic file".

This article is translated from an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Mohammed Ali on 9 April 2025. To read the original article click here.