A vessel near Izmir, Turkey. (Moe Zoyari/Bloomberg)
Turkey is planning to start negotiations with Syria to delineate maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.
Such a deal would allow the two countries to “increase their area of influence” in energy exploration, Uraloglu told reporters in the capital Ankara on Tuesday. Any future agreement will be in line with international law, he said.
A similar maritime agreement signed between Turkey and Libya in 2019 heightened tensions between the government in Ankara and Greece over energy exploration in the Mediterranean.
Turkey emerged as one of the key countries to assert its influence in reshaping the political landscape in Syria after the collapse of former President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime earlier this month. It has strong incentives in engaging Syria’s new rulers as Turkey hosts about 3 million Syrian migrants while Turkish companies would be at the forefront in benefiting from postwar reconstruction.
Progress in negotiating a maritime deal would require stable political authority in Syria, Uraloglu said.
In line with recent diplomatic outreach from other regional countries, Turkey is offering help in rebuilding Syria. Ankara wants to collaborate in infrastructure projects, including ports, the Turkish minister said.
