Syria’s new leader to pay historic visit to Ankara

Syria’s new leader to pay historic visit to Ankara

ANKARA
Syria’s new leader to pay historic visit to Ankara

Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa will pay a historic visit to Türkiye on Feb. 4, marking his second international destination after Saudi Arabia, amid intensified efforts to establish a new political system and rebuild the war-torn country.

The visit of Syria’s new leader was announced by Communication Director Fahrettin Altun in a written statement on Feb. 3. Altun said al-Sharaa will be in Ankara on Feb. 4 upon the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Al-Sharaa paid his first visit to Saudi Arabia on Feb. 2.

“All recent developments in Syria, including economic recovery, sustainable stability as well as joint steps to be taken to restore security in the country will be discussed during the talks,” Altun said.

Türkiye’s support to the interim government and the Syrian people will be raised by the two leaders, the head of the communications said, adding the ties between the two countries will further advance as a result of the visit by al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa, formerly known by the nom de guerre Mohammed al-Golani, was appointed as the interim president of the Syrian Arab Republic after the collapse of the Assad regime in early December.

Türkiye has been one of the closest supporters of Syrian opposition groups under the leadership of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in their efforts to topple Assad. It continued to play a key role in the transition period through its full political support.

The talks in Ankara on Feb. 4 will focus on the political and physical reconstruction of Syria and how Türkiye and international community will provide support during this process. Preliminary talks were held during Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın’s visits to Damascus in previous weeks. Türkiye also deployed a military delegation to Damascus for exploring ways of cooperation in the coming period.

 Fight against terror on the agenda

Apart from cooperation in various fields, such as economy, trade, transportation and energy, Ankara and Damascus will also discuss security cooperation in order to create a terror-free Syria by the elimination of terrorist organizations YPG and ISIL. 

Türkiye and Syria underline that clearing the country of the terrorist organizations is essential for securing Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity.

Al-Sharaa has already called on all armed groups, including YPG, to lay down its arms and join the national army of Syria.

Türkiye also calls on YPG to disband itself and for all non-Syrian members to leave the country.

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