The summit follows the US and the EU’s decision to remove sanctions to enable the civil war-stricken nation to rebuild and recover. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials in Istanbul as the West lifts sanctions against Syria.
The two leaders were photographed by Turkiye’s state broadcaster shaking hands following an official reception and sitting together for a meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace in the nation’s biggest city on Saturday.
Erdogan’s office reported that the Turkish president informed al-Sharaa that his country is gratified by the removal of the sanctions. He also stated that “Israel’s occupation and aggression on Syrian soil is not acceptable” and that Turkiye will continue to resist it on all platforms, as per a posting on X.
The presidency published a brief statement through state media in which they said the leaders had spoken of “a number of shared files.”. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, Director of the National Intelligence Organisation Ibrahim Kalin, and secretary to Turkish Defence Industries Haluk Gorgun took part in the talks, which were not open to the media.
Al-Sharaa, who had received overwhelming Turkish support in toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was joined by his Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
The Syrian interim president was also received by Erdogan in Ankara, the capital, early this month, in what was his second foreign journey since a visit to Riyadh to see Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two have been negotiating strengthened bilateral ties and Syria’s reconstruction, with regional allies persuading United States President Donald Trump to end crippling sanctions imposed on Syria.
