The Adana Agreement (;; ) was an agreement made between

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

in 1998 regarding the expulsion of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK) from Syria. Why is the 1998 Adana pact between Turkey and Syria back in the news?
SINEM CENGIZ, January 25, 2019, arabnews.com.

Background

Syria and Turkey had long had a strained relationship, owing to historical Syrian claims on the

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

, water disputes over the flow of the

Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris–Euphrates river system is a large river system in West Asia that flows into the Persian Gulf. Its primary rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates, along with smaller tributary, tributaries. From their sources and upper courses in the Ar ...

and the two nations' opposite alignments within the context of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, as Turkey had joined

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, while Syria grew close to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s,

Syria–Turkey relations Turkey–Syria relations are the relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic. Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria; various geographic and historical links also tie the two neighbouring countries togethe ...

became even more strained as Syria had permitted both the establishment of

(PKK) camps within its territory, as well as allowed its leader,

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

, to reside within the country. The PKK sought to establish an independent

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, which included areas held by Turkey and to this end fought in the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...

against the Turkish government. Turkish authorities classified the PKK as a terrorist group and undertook a campaign seeking to eliminate it. As part of this campaign, Turkey threatened Syria with a ground

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

, should Syria not expel the group from its territory and hand over Öcalan to Turkish authorities. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

issued a parallel demand to Syria, in support of its Turkish ally. Syria initially rejected Turkish demands, but after considerable negotiations decided to partially agree to the end of the PKK's presence in Syria. In the runup to the agreement, the Syrian government made Öcalan leave the country, rather than hand him over to Turkish authorities, as per Turkish demands. Instead, he was placed on a plane travelling to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

The agreement

The Adana Agreement was concluded between Turkey and Syria on 20 October 1998 in the Turkish city of

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

. Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

rejected the notion that the agreement was signed under pressure, stating that he had agreed to it as he had decided it would be best for Syria "to be friends with the Turkish people", which he thought was not reconcilable with Syrian support for Kurdish groups.

Syrian Civil War

The Adana Agreement held until 2011, when overt Turkish support for the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

in the context of the Syrian Civil War ended all goodwill between the two countries and the Syrian Government once again started supporting Kurdish groups as a counterweight to Turkish efforts in Syria. The Syrian government declared that Turkey had violated the understanding brought by the agreement by arming rebel groups inside Syria. In 2012 Turkish officials accused the Syrian government of providing direct support to the PKK. The Syrian government has since declared that it felt no longer bound by the agreement, but retained a "readiness" to return to it, if Turkey were to cease support for the

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the sta ...

and other rebel armed groups in Syria, as well as withdraw its troops from the Turkish occupied areas of northern Syria. In 2019, the agreement gained new significance due to the contemporary Turkish operations in Syrian territory.Analysis: What does the Adana deal mean for Turkey and Syria?
Agreement resulted from mediation efforts by Egypt and Iran to satisfy Turkish demands that Syria end support for PKK. by Ali Younes, 23 Oct 2019. The agreement was explicitly mentioned in the

Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone The Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone, part of the Sochi Agreement (, ), is a buffer zone in northern Syria between the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). It was set up following a memorandum of understanding in ...

deal.

References

{{Reflist Modern history of Syria Modern history of Turkey 1998 in Syria 1998 in Turkey Syria–Turkey relations Treaties of Syria Treaties of Turkey History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party Syrian civil war Military history of Adana

External links

Statement Made By İsmail Cem, Foreign Minister, On The Special Security Meeting Held Between Turkey And Syria October 20, 1998 (Unofficial Translation)

Background

The agreement

Syrian Civil War

See also

References

External links