TEHRAN- In a joint presser the Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers raised eye-catching issues, which may lead to some changes in the region. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hosted his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Sunday. Although Fidan had accompanied President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his trips to Iran in the past as the head of Turkish national intelligence, it was the first time that Fidan visited Iran as a foreign minister.

Each minister carries out the policies of his ministry within the framework of the policies defined by the government of his country, therefore we cannot expect a change in the policy of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, because the 2023 Turkish presidential election is in fact a seal on the continuation of the presidency of Erdogan.

However, some of the issues that were raised between the Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers are worth consideration from several points of view.
Among the key terms discussed in the joint presser of the two foreign ministers were the development of cooperation in science and technology, health, industry, exchange of faculty members and students, tourism, and the exchange of sports teams, agriculture, and facilitation of the process of repatriating prisoners.  
 
The issue of Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Palestine were also among the other terms that were discussed by the two foreign ministers, but special attention to the issue of Syria, especially after the victory of Erdogan in the election, needs further analysis.

In fact, prior to the Turkish presidential elections, all analyses argued that Türkiye's normalization policy with Syria was just an electoral slogan. Many Turkish analysts believed that the steps taken by the Ankara officials to normalize relations with Damascus were only to gain votes, and the normalization of Ankara-Damascus will be neglected after the elections. But the normalization of relations with Syria mentioned during Fidan's joint presser with the Iranian foreign minister on Sunday in Tehran, shows that Ankara seeks to restore relations with Damascus.

Regarding the normalization of Ankara-Damascus ties, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran, enjoying friendly relations with Ankara and Damascus, will try to resolve the concerns of Türkiye while insisting on the need to respect the territorial integrity of Syria within the framework of the four-lateral meeting between Iran, Syria, Türkiye and Russia.
   
Iran’s foreign minister also said that he had received constructive suggestions from his Turkish counterpart regarding the normalization of relations and the return of Syrian refugees to their country.

Türkiye's failure in anti-Syrian policy 

Türkiye 's effort to rehabilitate relations with Syria stems from the Turkish government’s need to adopt such an approach. In recent years, the lack of proper management by Ankara regarding the Syrian refugees caused discontent in Turkish society. Therefore, due to the bad economic situation, Turkish citizens urge the return of Syrian refugees to their country.   

The main goal of Türkiye to normalize relations with Syria is to secure the borders of the two countries and pave the way for the return of Syrian refugees. Türkiye imagined that security could be established through cooperation with the United States on the Syria-Türkiye borders. 
Ankara unhappy with cooperation with the West, now has made a policy shift by seeking reproachment toward Damascus. Türkiye knows that with the involvement of Iran and Russia as the allies of Syria, the only solution is to heal the wounds with Damascus.

Trilateral cooperation in region

The issue of Saudi Arabia and the offer of trilateral cooperation by the Iranian foreign minister was another important issue raised in the joint press conference. In this regard, Amir-Abdollahian stated that following the normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and Riyadh's desire for trilateral cooperation, we (Iranian officials) negotiated with Türkiye to set up trilateral relations between Iran, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, and then focus on developing cooperation, which will provide economic, trade and investment opportunities between the three countries.   

Bringing up the peace triangle and creating a road map between Iran, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia is one of the most strategic decisions by the authorities of the countries. Although the goals of trilateral cooperation are stated in the framework of commercial, economic, and investment interests, this issue will also strengthen the strategic relations of the three countries. Iran, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are actually considered to be the main players in the region and the foreign policy of these countries has always been influential in the region.

In recent years, Washington with the support of Tel Aviv was trying to fulfill its goal to restrict Iran by normalizing relations between Tel Aviv and Arab capitals. Iran's will to develop and restore relations with regional governments has practically brought the policy of the Zionist regime and other Western governments to a standstill. Now, the proposal of multilateral cooperation can definitely benefit Iran and the region.

Hakan Fidan pointed to Ankara's approach toward trilateral cooperation and expressed Türkiye's support for the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. He also said Tehran, Ankara, and Riyadh are three responsible governments in the region. 

Now, considering the will of the three countries, it is likely that in the near future, we will see coalitions led by these three countries, which could be an important obstacle to the adventure by some governments in the region.
In the end, we should not interpret the Turkish diplomat’s visit as a normal trip based on the traditional relations between countries. The normalization of relations between Türkiye and Syria and the development of cooperation between Tehran, Riyadh, and Ankara, after a period of tense relations in the region, can definitely provide peace and development. According to the positive economic and commercial consequences of the matter, it will encourage other countries in the region to follow suit. And this will be a complete political failure for some Western governments, who have only been seeking tension in the region.