The two-day visit to Syria by Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister, which ended on September 14th, was no regular diplomatic excursion(短途出行，远足). Mr Fidan, a former spy chief, represents a government that many in the region regard as an active supporter, even a patron(庇护者，赞助人), of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham(沙姆解放组织，叙利亚伊斯兰主义反叛团体), the Islamist rebel group that overthrew Syria’s regime in December 2024. One Syria-watcher called Mr Fidan’s jaunt(短途旅行，远足) “a victory lap(胜利巡游，庆祝胜利), laying the ground for an even bigger victory lap”, presaging a plan by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, to visit Damascus, Syria’s capital.
土耳其外长哈坎·菲丹对叙利亚为期两天的访问于9月14日结束，这绝非一次寻常的外交之行。菲丹曾任情报部门负责人，他所代表的政府被该地区许多人视为“沙姆解放组织”的积极支持者，甚至是其庇护者。该组织是伊斯兰主义反叛团体，于2024年12月推翻了叙利亚政权。一位叙利亚问题观察人士将菲丹此行称为“一场胜利巡游，为一场更大的胜利巡游铺路”，预示着土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安计划访问叙利亚首都大马士革。
Mr Fidan, a possible successor(继任者，接班人) to Mr Erdogan, met both Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and its interior minister. The visit raised hackles(激怒，引起不满) in the Israeli government, which is worried about Turkey’s growing influence in its northern neighbour’s affairs. So did his remarks that “the threat with the greatest potential to destabilise(破坏稳定，使动荡) Syria at the moment is Israel.”
菲丹被视为埃尔多安的可能接班人，他会见了叙利亚总统艾哈迈德·沙拉以及内政部长。此次访问激怒了以色列政府，后者担忧土耳其在北方邻国事务中影响力日增。菲丹的言论同样令以色列不满，他说“目前最有可能破坏叙利亚稳定的威胁是以色列”。
Mr Erdogan’s expected visit, nearly two years after the Syrian revolution, may seem somewhat tardy(迟缓的，迟到的). That may be because Mr Sharaa has been keen to dispel the notion(打消……的看法) that he is a Turkish proxy(代理人，代理). Turkey could also have been waiting for last month’s completion of an agreement to dissolve the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces(叙利亚民主力量，库尔德人主导的民兵组织) militia and integrate(整合，使融入) them into the Syrian army. Turkey is suspicious of any independent Kurdish group, and had for some time been pushing for the deal. But the visit’s timing may also reflect Turkey’s increasing tension with Israel.
埃尔多安预期中的访问，距离叙利亚革命已近两年，似乎有些迟缓。这可能是因为沙拉一直急于打消外界认为他是土耳其代理人的看法。土耳其也可能一直在等待上月完成的一项协议，该协议旨在解散库尔德“叙利亚民主力量”民兵并将其编入叙利亚军队。土耳其对任何独立的库尔德团体都心存疑虑，一段时间以来一直在推动这项协议。但访问的时机也可能反映出土耳其与以色列日益紧张的关系。