Antalya (TDI): The presidents of Syria and Azerbaijan discussed how Baku could play a role in restoring Syria’s oil and gas sector in their first-ever meeting in Turkiye last weekend.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa called on his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on the margins of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where they duscussed on how to move forward after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.
According to the Middle East Eye, the Syrian government expressed interest in getting Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Socar, to help develop oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria, a region largely controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) armed group.
Earlier this month, Azerbaijan hosted deconfliction meetings between Turkish and Israeli officials, after Israel’s army targeted three military bases in Syria out of concern that Turkiye’s troops might seize them.
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In January, Elchin Ibadov, CEO of Socar’s Turkish arm Socar Türkiye, expressed the firm’s willingness to participate in Syria’s energy sector.
“If Socar Türkiye is assigned a role aligned with the mutual strategic interests of our nations and there is demand for this energy, then it is our duty to fulfill it,” he said.
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In March, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi and Sharaa inked a unification agreement that effectively granted the Damascus government control over the energy fields. However, Sharaa’s government has yet to physically take over the sites.
