page_title: Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
section_title: Russo-Turkish regularization of diplomatic ties
hierarchical_section_title: Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War / Turkey and other external state actors / Russian Federation / Russo-Turkish regularization of diplomatic ties
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Встреча Президента России Владимира Путина с Президентом Ирана Хасаном Рухани и Президентом Турции Реджепом Тайипом Эрдоганом в Сочи. Переговоры посвящены проблематике сирийского урегулирования.
context_page_description: Turkey has been diplomatically and militarily involved in the Syrian Civil War since its outbreak in 2011. Initially condemning the Syrian government at the outbreak of civil unrest in Syria during the spring of 2011, the Turkish government's involvement gradually evolved into military assistance for the Free Syrian Army in July 2011, border clashes in 2012, and direct military interventions in 2016–17, in 2018, in 2019, and in 2020. The military operations have resulted in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.
  After a decade of relatively friendly relations with Syria during the prior decade, Turkey condemned Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over the violent crackdown on protests in 2011 and later that year joined a number of other countries demanding his resignation. From the beginning of the war, Turkey trained defectors of the Syrian Army in its territory under the supervision of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation, among whom emerged the Free Syrian Army in July 2011. In May 2012, the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation began arming and training the FSA and provided them with a base of operations.
context_section_description: On 26 June 2016 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan writes Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer condolences to the family of the deceased Russian pilot of the Sukhoi Su-24 warplane shot down last November. The Kremlin has asked for a personal apology for months. A Turkish spokesman says this is a step toward improving bilateral relations between the two countries.
  On 1 July 2016, Turkish and Russian foreign ministers said that the two countries will "coordinate" their policies over Syria.
  On 14 July 2016, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said that al-Assad must go before any change in Turkey's stance regarding Syria. He added that between al-Assad or ISIL, Turkey cannot choose either of them and that the main reason things have come to this point is because of al-Assad.
caption: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in November 2017
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