Istanbul talks signal new momentum in Syria-US relations

ANKARA

Syria’s normalization drive with the United States has accelerated over the weekend as high-level crucial talks in Istanbul focused on lifting sanctions, fostering regional cooperation and paving the way for economic recovery and stability in the war-torn country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Istanbul on May 24, with the talks also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Yaşar Güler, intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, as well as Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

In the an-hour-and-a-half meeting, Erdoğan told Sharaa that the Türkiye-Syria cooperation will grow in all areas, according to a statement by the Turkish leader’s office.

Erdoğan also expressed his belief that Syria will see brighter and more peaceful days ahead, retiring that Ankara will continue to stand by Damascus as it has until now.

"Our President told Sharaa ... that Türkiye welcomed the lifting of sanctions," his office said.

The United States formally lifted sanctions on Syria on May 23 after being announced by Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria's president. The European Union also announced the same move last week.

Istanbul also hosted another crucial meeting on the same day, Sharaa received the U.S. ambassador to Türkiye, who has assumed the role of Washington’s special envoy for Syria.

“Today, I met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani in Istanbul to implement President [Donald] Trump’s bold decision to provide a path for peace and prosperity in Syria,” Barrack said on X.

"President Trump's goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive.

"I stressed the cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective, the enduring defeat of ISIS [ISIL] and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future."

“I also commended President al-Sharaa on taking meaningful steps towards enacting President Trump’s points on foreign terrorist fighters, counter-ISIS measures, relations with Israel and camps and detention centers in NE Syria,” he added.

Both sides affirmed their “commitment to continuing these important conversations and to working together to develop private sector investment in Syria to rebuild the economy, including through investment by regional and global partners such as Türkiye, the Gulf, Europe and the United States.”

The meeting was “historic, putting the issue of sanctions — as President Trump has indicated — far behind us, and resulting in joint commitment of both our countries to drive forward, quickly, with investment, development, and worldwide branding of a new, welcoming Syria without sanctions,” he concluded.

Barrack’s announcement came as a Syrian government delegation for the first time visited a notorious camp in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)- led northeast that hosts families of suspected ISIL group extremists.

Al-Hol is northeast Syria’s largest camp, housing some 37,000 people from dozens of countries, including 14,500 Iraqis, in dire conditions.

Discussions involved establishing a mechanism for removing Syrian families from Al-Hol camp, the media reported.

The visit comes more than two months after Sharaa and YPG-led SDF’s head Mazloum Abdi agreed to integrate the SDF’s civil and military institutions into the national government.

During his Gulf visit, Trump urged Sharaa to take control of the camps. Previously, the media had also reported that Washington's normalization demands included a request for Damascus to assume authority over these camps.

In another statement on the key meeting, the U.S. envoy on May 25 said that Syria's new authorities have agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the war-ravaged country.

"The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains," Tom Barrack wrote on X, describing it as a "powerful step forward.”

"President Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere," Barrack said.