Turkish FM Hakan Fidan meets new Syrian leader Al-Sharaa in Damascus
Fidan's visit was previously announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week, though no specific date was provided at the time.
A Turkish diplomatic source told RIA Novosti on Sunday that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is making his first official visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the new Syrian government.
"Minister Fidan met with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus," the source said.
Fidan's visit was previously announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week, though no specific date was provided at the time.
DışiÅŸleri Bakanı Hakan Fidan, Suriye'deki yeni yönetimin lideri Ahmed eÅŸ-Åžera ile Åžam'da bir araya geldi https://t.co/8D5SKIHaKq pic.twitter.com/aNerifTnHJ
— Anadolu Ajansı (@anadoluajansi) December 22, 2024
Turkey recently reopened its embassy in Syria after being closed for over a decade.
The Turkish embassy in Damascus had been closed since March 26, 2012, amid escalating violence during the early stages of the war on Syria and Ankara's calls for Assad to step down.
During the war, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) provided strategic leverage for Turkey by acting as a key player in countering the Assad government and Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
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