Turkey's Syrian policy from the war to the present: Change and continuity 2011-2022

Turkey-Syria relations have been shaped around three problems from the independence of Syria in 1946 to the Adana Agreement of October 20, 1998. These; The Hatay (İskenderun) problem is the problem of irrigated waters that cross the border and the problem of terrorism (PKK). The two countries have come to the brink of war, especially in the field of terrorism. After Turkey declared war on Syria on October 8, 1998, the Syrian administration understood the seriousness of the issue, ended the presence of the terrorist organization PKK in Syrian territory on October 9 and expelled the leader of the terrorist organization, Abdullah Öcalan. This development has eliminated the most sensitive problem between the two countries. As a result, Turkey-Syria entered into a joint struggle against terrorism with the Adana Agreement dated October 20, 1998. After this agreement, relations first began to be mutually improved and the process evolved into multifaceted cooperation. Especially the period of good relations based on the economy could continue until the Syrian civil war in 2011. After the Assad administration responded to the protests demanding reforms with the disproportionate use of force and Turkey's attempts to achieve peace failed, Turkey changed its Syria policy and argued that the Assad regime should go. For this reason, the relations between the two countries have been completely severed and good relations have been replaced by mutual accusations and discourses. As a result, a new era has been entered in relations away from reconciliation and diplomacy. In particular, Turkey's attitude of non-reconciliation continued until 2022. Intelligence-level talks began in 2021, and a conciliatory stance at the leader level was demonstrated in December 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's positive rhetoric on reconciliation with Syria strengthens the possibility that the meeting will take place soon. In this direction, it is possible to divide Turkey-Syria relations into three periods and to say that there is a high probability that the fourth period will be entered. In this study, the first semester; Iskenderun (Hatay) problem, water problem, terror problem, second period; The third period of good relations in cooperation, which started with the Adana Agreement in 1998 and lasted until the Syrian civil war in 2011; All the developments between the Syrian civil war of 2011 and the year 2022, and in the conclusion section, the advantages of Turkey-Syria normalization in the fourth period of the relations, which are highly probable, will be explained. Keywords: Turkey-Syria relations, ISIS Factor, PYD/YPG factor, USA, Russia, Adana Agreement.