Turkish top diplomat in Syria for key talks

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paid a snap visit to Damascus on March 5 to meet senior Syrian officials, including President Ahmad al-Sharaa, diplomatic sources have informed.

Fidan’s visit to Syria comes at a key moment where the Middle East is passing through dire straits due to the ongoing war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran and Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon and other regional partners.

In Damascus, Fidan held his first meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Essad Hassan Sheiybani. The Turkish minister paid his latest visit to Syria in December 2025 along with Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın.

The visit will pave the way for the Turkish and Syrian authorities to elaborate on bilateral projects for the reconstruction of Syria following the civil war between 2011 and 2024. Fidan and Syrian officials also reviewed joint capacity-building efforts in Syria.

Another key issue will be the implementation process of YPG into the Syrian national army under the Jan. 17 and Jan. 30 agreements. YPG, considered a terror organization by Türkiye, has agreed to withdraw from the areas it has been controlling in eastern Syria and join the national army after a brief armed conflict with Damascus in the past months.

Talks will also review the security threats to Syria, especially from Israel, which aims to create a wider buffer zone in southern Syria. The situation in Lebanon and the impacts of the ongoing armed conflicts in Syria will also be addressed.

Three-way meeting

In Damascus, Fidan will also attend a three-way meeting with Sharaa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The latter is visiting Damascus following his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul on March 4.