Turkish authorities decide to close the Syrian Coalition office in Ankara – Details

A few days ago, the Turkish government took a position that aroused controversy and wide questioning by closing a Syrian opposition headquarters in the capital Ankara that belonged to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, known as the Syrian Coalition, since it had received significant support from Turkey since its establishment years ago.

Turkish sources revealed that the reasons behind the decision of the authorities to close the Syrian Coalition office in the capital and transfer its functions to the government in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is located on the border with Syria, are financial; the government is trying to reduce the coalition’s fiscal budget, given the deterioration of the Turkish economy, which it attributed to the presence of another headquarters in Istanbul and a headquarters for the so-called Syrian Interim Government, also supported by Turkey.

The sources added: “Second, Ankara’s desire to completely abandon that coalition and turn its functions over to the Syrian interim government coincides with a number of Syrian opposition figures attempting to establish another entity, to be led by former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, to rival the coalition members are heading to join”.

It continued: The Turkish authorities are holding on to the head of the so-called Syrian Interim Government, Abdul-Rahman Mustafa, rather than the Coalition, because he belongs to Syria’s Turkmen minority, known for his unwavering loyalty to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The sources pointed out that there are other political goals that the Turkish government has from this decision, linked to the presidential and parliamentary elections that will be held in Turkey in June 2023, which will determine the future of Turkey; The government is trying to absorb public anger at the presence of Syrian refugees in their country, which was one reason for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s declining popularity.

The Turkish authorities decided to shut down the office in Ankara abruptly, while there was no official coalition statement to comment on the reasons for the closure; it has several branches in Turkey, including Istanbul.