Bilal Turkia, Syrian Chargé d'Affaires In Qatar: Israel's Incursion Unjustifiable, But Syria Understands Neighbors' Fears; We Will Be Focusing On Domestic Affairs Before Dealing With International Relations

In a December 8, 2024 interview with Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar), Bilal Turkia, Chargé d'Affaires for the Syrian embassy in Qatar, said that Israel's actions in Syria are driven by fears that certain groups may reach its borders, though he qualified this as unjustifiable. Turkia addressed concerns from Syria's neighboring countries, stating that the opposition in Syria has "clearly shown" respect for its neighbors and international agreements. He also emphasized that Syria's current priority is addressing domestic issues before turning to international relations and agreements.

Interviewer: "It seems that Israel has taken the opportunity, in light of what is happening in Syria, to occupy several kilometers of the buffer zone. Furthermore, they are even considering expanding that zone, in their favor. What does this mean?"

Bilal Turkia: "Israel is clearly afraid that certain groups will reach the border. Obviously, this does not justify Israel entering Syrian soil. There are other occupied [Syrian] territories, like the Golan Heights. Unfortunately, in the past 40-50 years, the Al-Assad regime has not seriously demanded the Golan back. Like I have said, there are many complicated issues that need to be discussed and sorted out – especially some international issues, agreements, and relations. These need to be sorted out, but we should not get into this now, and let go of our main mission – settling things on the domestic front. We understand the fears of all [the countries] surrounding Syria – whether it is Jordan in the south, Iraq, and even Turkey and Lebanon. The Syrian opposition has clearly shown that it respects all of Syria's neighbors and agreements, but we are focused on sorting out the domestic front."