Türkiye’s defense attaché takes office in Damascus

ANKARA

Türkiye’s Defense Attaché Lt. Col. Hasan Göz has assumed duties in the Turkish Embassy in Damascus, the embassy said in a statement on late March 4.

“Our military cooperation with brotherly Syria continues intensively,” the statement read.

Türkiye was one of the first countries that opened its embassy in Damascus after the opposition groups ended the six-decade Baath regime and unseated Bashar Assad in December 2024. Türkiye appointed Burhan Köroğlu as temporary chargé d’affaires to Damascus and opened its consulate general in Aleppo.

Ankara was planning to deploy a defense attaché for better coordination on military and security-related issues.

According to the statement, a technical delegation from the Turkish Defense Ministry will soon pay a visit to Damascus to discuss the next steps of military-to-military cooperation with Syria.

Türkiye and the new administration in Syria have declared their joint will to engage in military cooperation as Ankara has pledged to offer its assistance for building the new Syrian army.

Damascus has called on all armed groups in Syria to drop their weapons and join the national army. It is still in discussions with YPG, which controls one-third of Syria's lands and fights ISIL as the local partner of the United States.