Protests and unrest erupted in Turkey last week after police detained Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the opposition’s frontrunner against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2028 presidential election.
“I expressed concerns regarding recent arrests and protests in Turkiye,” Rubio wrote on X, after meeting his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Washington.
The events triggered a crackdown from Turkish police and security forces, who by Tuesday had detained over 1,400 people, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who warned “no concessions” for “those who attempt to terrorize the streets, our national and spiritual values, and our policemen.”
Imamoglu’s arrest came days after he was detained as part of an extensive investigation that also saw the arrests of 99 suspects for bribery, extortion, fraud, unlawful data acquisition, and tender rigging, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Ozgur Ozel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), on Sunday called for early elections. “We have had enough and we want early elections,” he told protesters.
Syria
“We’re also partnering together on key issues, from peace in Ukraine and the South Caucasus to supporting Syria against destabilizing Iranian activities,” Rubio said.
Citing Turkish foreign ministry sources, Anadolu reported that both sides stressed the importance of engaging with Damascus during the meeting.
“Both sides emphasized the importance of engaging with the Syrian government and expressed their determination to stabilize Syria and combat terrorism,” Anadolu cited the sources as saying.
In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Rubio “reiterated the need for close cooperation to support a stable, unified, peaceful Syria” that is not a “base for international terrorism.”
But Washington and Ankara are at odds in Syria over their stance on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - a key US ally but considered terrorists by Turkey.
The SDF is the de facto army of northeast Syria (Rojava), where the People’s Protection Units (YPG) represents its backbone. The Kurdish-led force was instrumental in driving out the Islamic State (ISIS) from Syria in 2019, with US-led coalition backing.
Turkey considers the YPG as the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with which it has been in conflict for four decades and designates as a terrorist organization. The SDF has repeatedly denied Ankara’s allegations.
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in December toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In late January, HTS’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was appointed as Syria’s interim president.
While US diplomats have continued to engage with Syria’s new leadership, Bruce told Rudaw on Saturday that Washington is noting concerns about the “consolidation of power” in Damascus by Syria’s interim president, Sharaa. She called for the formation of an “inclusive, civilian-led” government.
Earlier in March, Sharaa signed a 53-article constitutional declaration granting him sweeping executive powers, including the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature and select judges for the constitutional court - the body responsible for holding the president accountable.
The interim constitution, based on Islamic jurisprudence, mandates that the president must be Muslim and sets a five-year transitional period for the country, while retaining the country’s name as the Syrian Arab Republic.
The move has drawn wide criticism from Syria’s Kurdish, Christian, Druze, and Yazidi communities.
