Turkey, Syria coordination more likely after latest quake – observers

The latest Kahramanmaras earthquake in southern Turkey and north-western Syria has left thousands of people dead behind in both countries.

The 7.8 magnitude quake took place on February 6. It also left a large number of people on both sides injured and devastated thousands of homes and facilities.

Dozens of countries are harrowing to deliver aid to the two countries.

The same development is opening up the prospect of a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Before the tragedy struck, there were attempts already to bring the two sides closer together, with some countries mediating between Ankara and Damascus.

However, the same attempts were far from successful.

Erdogan-Assad meeting

It should be noted that relations between Syria and Turkey have cooled since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011.

Assad's regime has always appealed to Turkey to stop supporting Syrian opposition forces and agree to the normalization of relations.

Nevertheless, all these appeals have so far fallen into deaf ears.

Now, however, some observers believe the seismic shock that hit the two countries can affect the dynamics of relations between them.

The same shock, they say, can change the map of the conflict in Syrian territories, on the one hand, and resolve the crisis of Syrian refugees in Turkey, on the other.

This is especially true, they say, with presidential elections approaching in Turkey.

The same observers believe that ending strains in relations between Turkey and Syria would serve Erdogan's best interests, thwart attempts by the Turkish opposition to mobilize public opinion against the Turkish president, against the background of the Syrian refugees' crisis.

Russia made attempts to bring Erdogan and Assad to the same table.

Following the quake, the Russian Research and Studies Centre published several messages on its official Telegram page, in which it called on the leaders of the two stricken countries to seize the current opportunity and hold a meeting, especially in the light of the current state of Arab and international solidarity for their countries.

Some observers even suggested that the phone talks Russian President, Vladimir Putin and Erdogan held in the aftermath of the quake had dealt with this issue.

Opening border crossing

Discussions on the possibility of reopening the border crossing between Hatay Province in Turkey and the Syrian government-controlled part of Latakia Province to ease the entry of aid to affected areas in Syria, after a decade of closure, can be the basis of a new chapter in relations between the two countries, a Turkish official told Reuters on February 10.

The shift in the Turkish position towards Syria finds its roots in attempts by the international community to extend a helping hand to the Arab country, after the latest quake which left massive devastation in it.

Aid can only enter Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.

Nevertheless, some political experts ruled out the possibility of the quake crisis changing the course of relations between the two countries.

Erdogan, they said, has not reciprocated to demands by his Syrian counterpart in relations to the Syrian opposition.

They added that the Turkish president did not show any response to resolve the refugee crisis.

Purely pragmatic

Director of the Arab Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, Mohamed Sadek Ismail, described Turkish policies as 'purely pragmatic'.

This means, he said, if it were necessary for Erdogan to meet his Syrian counterpart, he would do so, especially if this will serve his interests in the northern part of Syria.

"The earthquake issue resulted in international coordination between Turkey and the international system on humanitarian assistance to the two stricken countries," Ismail told The Reference.

"Currently most of the aid has reached Turkey and has not reached Syria, causing Ankara to distribute it to the stricken areas," he added.

He noted that this may lead to diplomatic coordination with Syria to regulate the issue of aid.