On Oct. 3, Ankara and Damascus held a strategic cooperation summit in
the Syrian port city of Latakia that included senior ministers from both
countries. Officials said Syria and Turkey reaffirmed their agreement to
track and capture PKK insurgents, including intelligence exchange,
extradition and joint operations.
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said the next stage in CI
cooperation could include Iran, which has also been battling Kurdish
insurgents. Atalay said Iran, Syria and Turkey could conduct both joint
operations and training designed to enhance the campaign against the PKK and
its affiliates. The Turkish minister said Iraq could also be included.
"There might be joint operations in several areas," Atalay said. "Syria
has recently
staged sensitive operations. They were not joint operations, but we were
informed of them."
Syria and Turkey have also been removing land mines from their 500
kilometer border. Officials said the effort has been accelerated and could
be completed by 2014.
Officials said Ankara and Damascus were drafting options for additional
projects as part of defense, energy and security cooperation. They said
recommendations would be submitted to the heads of the two countries during
their scheduled summit in December.
"There could be mutual requests on security issues," Atalay said.
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