By Atef Saqr Following several diplomatic shuttle missions led by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, Syria has expressed a desire to end the recent crisis in relations with neighbouring Turkey. Only a dialogue between the two countries, not Turkish threats, will lead to a settlement, Syrian officials stressed. After meeting Moussa, who ended a brief visit to Ankara on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa emphasised that Damascus "does not consider Turkey an enemy," and affirmed that diplomacy is the best way to reach a suitable solution which would serve the interests of both the Syrian and Turkish peoples. Informed sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that both Turkey and Syria have also agreed to limit their discussions at this stage to Ankara's allegations that Damascus is providing support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is fighting for self-rule in Turkey. This would mean setting aside other contentious issues between the two neighbours such as water, Syrian claims over Al-Iskandaron, declared part of Turkey in 1939, and the growing military alliance between Turkey and Israel. Sharaa told reporters that through Egyptian mediation, Damascus has said it will stop all support to the PKK and will help prevent its fighters from entering Turkey through Syria. However, Syria insisted that it cannot help in halting attacks launched against Turkey from Syria, because, as officials said, "this never occurred in the first place." Both Egyptian and Syrian officials were careful not to release any details of the agreement which is being worked on with Turkey. However, it was understood that Syria has confirmed it will not provide refuge or support of any kind to . Despite official denials, it has been reported that Ocalan has occasionally visited Syria. According to informed sources, the deal is not much different from the security agreement reached between Turkey and Syria in 1992. In that agreement, both parties denounced terrorism and vowed not to support any group or individuals accused of carrying out terrorist activities in any of the two countries. They also agreed to extradite "terrorists" arrested in either country to their homelands in order to stand trial, and to deny the groups allegedly involved in terrorist activities any training facilities or the chance to organise propaganda campaigns against their governments. Article eight in the 1992 agreement stated that the Turkish side expressed deep concern over the PKK's terrorist activities while Syria said it considered the PKK an outlaw organisation which is not allowed to operate on its territory. Damascus also agreed to put on trial any PKK members arrested in Syria. In order to back its claim that it no longer provides any support for the PKK, Syria revealed that there are currently more than 500 PKK members held in its prisons. Damascus has also banned any activities by parties representing members of the Syrian Kurdish minority. Analysts agree that these are all measures which confirm Syria's good intentions towards Turkey. The same analysts also point out that Damascus has no interest in provoking ethnic trouble in Turkey since Syria has its own minorities. In an attempt to ease tension with Turkey, Syria has looked to Arab and Islamic countries, mainly Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran, for support. Officials here believe this was important in order to impress upon Turkey the dangers of attacking Syria. A few Arab countries, including Libya, have gone as far as to remind Turkey of its joint economic interests with the Arab world. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has even threatened to expel Turkish companies working in his country and replace them with Greek firms if Ankara decides to attack Syria. Judging by recent Egyptian, Syrian and Turkish statements, there appears to be a general optimism that the current crisis might be solved peacefully. The next step could be a top-level meeting between Syrian and Turkish officials who might tackle other problems such as water. Turkey considers the Digla and Euphrates Rivers, which pass through Syria and Iraq, to be Turkish waters, claiming it alone maintains the right to determine the amount of water which flows on to the two other countries. However, Syria insists that since the two rivers pass through three countries, they must be treated as international waters whose water must be distributed according to criteria established in international treaties. Syria also rejects Turkish demands that the amount of water given to each country should be determined on the basis of the quality of cultivable land in each country. This process, Syria says, would not only be arduous but would give Turkey time to build more dams thus determining in advance the amount of water each country would receive. Reaching an agreement on this matter is being complicated by the Syrian-Turkish dispute over Al-Iskandaron region which is claimed by both countries. Turkey has asked Syria to agree that it is entitled to a share of the waters of Al-A'si River which passes through Lebanon into Syria and ends in Al-Iskandaron. But Syria has rejected this demand because granting Turkey a share in Al-A'si water would mean recognising its claim over the disputed region. For all these reasons, Egypt agreed with both parties that current efforts should concentrate on defusing the crisis, while leaving other, more complicated issues such as water, to future meetings between joint Syrian-Turkish committees. However, reaching an agreement on the distribution of water may well prove as difficult as achieving an accord returning Al-Iskandaron to Syria. Related: Ankara's war drums beat softer
