Damascus, Ankara sign security understanding memorandum
Syria-Turkey, Politics, 12/18/2003

Turkey and Syria yesterday in Ankara signed during a visit by the Syrian minister of the interior, Ali Hammoud, a security agreement aimed at fighting criminality and terrorism.

This coincided with the statements declared by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that "two neighboring countries cannot live under tension." The Turkish minister of the interior, Abdul Qader Akso, said that Syria and Turkey "stressed they have agreed that cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism is an important matter for regional security."

He added "we have faced certain tension in the past in our bilateral relations, but this is behind us now. We now concentrate on the future." Signing this agreement came after a series of attacks that targeted Istanbul in October, and resulted in killing 62 persons including the four suicidors. Syria handed over 22 suspected persons including students of a religious school wanted over being suspected to be involved in these attacks.

For his part, Hammoud stressed to the Turkish authorities that other suspected will be handed over, requested by Turkey, if they are on the Syrian territories. The Syrian minister added "it is in the interests of Syria to hand over those persons to Turkey." The memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides states to fighting organized terrorism, drugs, and illegal migration. President Bashar al-Assad is expected to pay an official visit to Turkey by the beginning of 2004 in the first step that aims at perpetuating good relations between the two countries.

This news was announced by President al-Assad in Athens on Tuesday, replying a question on evacuating 22 Turkish citizens from Syria to Turkey in the context of investigations on the Istanbul attacks saying that "terrorism has no borders," noting that these evacuation operations came in the context of "a bilateral agreement signed in 1986 against terrorism." President al-Assad noted "improvement" in the relations between Syria and Turkey. He said that "two neighboring countries cannot live under tension."

Previous Stories:
  Senior Syrian officials meets with the Turkish parliamentary delegation   (12/4/2003)
  Al-Assad- confers with Turkish parliamentary Delegation   (12/4/2003)
  Syrian- Turkish parliamentary friendship association   (12/3/2003)

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