Turkey, Syria agree to lift visa requirements

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Wednesday that a decision has been made to lift mutual visa requirements with Syria.

Speaking to reporters in a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Mualem, Davutoglu said, "I want to speak to the brotherly Syrian people from here. Turkey is your second country and the people of Turkey have opened their arms to welcome you without the need for a visa."

The second historical step has to do with the decision to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council, Davutoglu said. “The brotherhood that exists between our people has been lifted to the political level with joint cabinet meetings to be held between our two governments,” he said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem said Turkey and Syria also agreed to lift taxes on trailer trucks operating between the two countries. Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Mualem said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held "a very fruitful meeting," adding that the two leaders have agreed to establish "a strategic cooperation assembly" between two countries. "This is the biggest demonstration of cooperation, solidarity and mutual trust," Mualem told reporters.