These expectations notwithstanding, Turkey has started to gradually revise its Syria policy. Turkey is moving away from the scenario in which dialogue with Damascus is ruled out and military options gain increased weight. Now, it is trying to find a middle way with Damascus by establishing closer dialogue with the countries that lend support to the Bashar al-Assad regime and showing interest in the problems of the Syrian refugees in Turkey. Thus, the efforts to strike out an interim solution in which no parties are fully satisfied are on the rise.
In the context of these steps, the headquarters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Hatay were shifted to Syria. Not all refugees are being accepted by Turkey. Turkey has given full support to UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. Turkey has proposed Vice President Faruq al-Shara as leader of the transition government, although he is a member of the current Syrian regime. A summit held between Turkey, Egypt and Iran in Cairo, from which Saudi Arabia had shied away, was attempted to be realized in a different manner. When Riyadh refused to talk with Iran, Ankara tried to overcome the bottleneck.
During the meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held in Azerbaijani capital of Baku Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said to Iran, concerning the tripartite meeting system: “We have proposed a tripartite system. Such a system may be established between Turkey, Egypt and Iran. A second system may be tried between Turkey, Russia and Iran. A third system may be between Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Depending on the outcome, these systems may become more prevalent. Then we will be able to see what we can do more clearly.” Moreover, during the summit in Baku, Prime Minister Erdoğan had successful talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concerning the Syria crisis. Finally, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called on the clashing parties in Syria to agree to a cease-fire during Eid al-Adha.
The Higher Education Board (YÖK) has passed a resolution allowing Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as Turkish citizens whose studies in Syria were interrupted by violence in the country, to enroll as special students at Gaziantep University, Kilis 7 Aralık University, Harran University (Şanlıurfa), Mustafa Kemal University (Hatay), Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Çukurova University (Adana) and Mersin University during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Syrian primary and secondary school students are also provided with educational facilities in the tent cities. For instance, 600 Syrian students are attending a 24-classroom school established in the Türkoğlu tent city in Kahramanmaraş. Sixteen Syrian citizens who are qualified teachers are now employed at these schools. Moreover, the children of the Syrian refugees staying with relatives in Turkey or in rented homes are also being provided with opportunities to attend school.
Through the special efforts of Gaziantep Mayor Asım Güzelbey, an educational center has been set up to deal with the problems of 600 school-age children of Syrian families staying in Gaziantep. This center is providing education to 245 primary school students, with eight teachers in eight classrooms. Shuttles are allocated to transport students between home and school. The center also provides a 290-seat classroom for adults who want to learn Turkish.
Ankara also hosted “The Day After: Supporting a Democratic Transition in Syria,” a project seeking to boost peace efforts in the Syria crisis, on Oct. 18. The project was conducted jointly by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Stiftung Wissenschaftund Politik (SWP) and the Middle East Strategic Research Center (ORSAM). “The Day After” is an infrastructure project undertaken in cooperation with all Syrian groups to determine how the new Syria will be shaped after the collapse of the Assad regime. After the completion of the project, “The Day After” is intended to be institutionalized in the form of a civil society organization (CSO).