The meeting comes after the US and the EU agreed to lift sanctions to allow the civil war-hit country to recover and rebuild.Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials in Istanbul as Western sanctions on Syria are lifted.
The two leaders were pictured by Turkiye’s state media shaking hands after an official reception and joining for a meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Saturday.
Erdogan’s office said the Turkish president told al-Sharaa his country welcomes the lifting of the sanctions. He also said that “Israel’s occupation and aggression in Syrian territory is unacceptable” and that Turkiye will continue to oppose it on every platform, according to a statement on X.
Syria’s presidency said in a short statement released through state media that the leaders discussed “a number of mutual files”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, National Intelligence Organisation director Ibrahim Kalin, and secretary of Turkish Defence Industries Haluk Gorgun were part of the talks, which were closed to the press. Advertisement
Al-Sharaa, who enjoyed sweeping Turkish backing in overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was accompanied by his Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
The Syrian interim leader was also received by Erdogan in the capital, Ankara, in early February, in what was his second international trip after a visit to Riyadh to meet Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The two sides have been discussing deepening bilateral relations and the reconstruction of Syria, as regional allies helped convince Uni …
