Turkey's foreign minister has met with the leader of the new Syrian government, promising to support political reform and rebuilding the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
In their meeting in Damascus on Sunday, Hakan Fidan of Turkey and the ruler of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa emphasized the importance of unity and stability in Syria, while they want all international sanctions to be lifted against the war-torn country.
Pictures and images shared by the Turkish ministry showed Fidan and al-Sharaa hugging and shaking hands, their meeting coming two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Fidan would travel to Damascus to discuss a new structure in Syria.
Speaking at a press conference with al-Sharaa, Fidan said Turkiye “will continue to stand by you…
Fidan said sanctions on Damascus should be lifted “immediately” and countries “must come together to help Syria recover and the refugees to return”.
Al-Sharaa, who was holding his first press conference since leading the operation to topple al-Assad and taking power two weeks ago, also called on countries to lift all sanctions against Syria.
“All economic sanctions must be removed, now the usurper is gone and only the victims are left. The injustice and oppression are gone. Now is the time for these sanctions to be removed,” said the head of the organization. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.
“This regime has been ruling for more than 50 years, and some of these sanctions were imposed in the 1970s. That is why this work must be done quickly, the sanctions must be removed quickly so that we can move our country forward.”
The two officials discussed the importance of writing a new constitution for Syria that protects the country's minorities. The issue of Syrian refugees, Israel's “violation” of Syrian sovereignty, and the issue of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) were also on the table.
The opposition took control of Syria later 13 years of brutal warwhich began as an unarmed uprising against al-Assad in 2011 but eventually turned into a full-scale war that drew international attention, killed thousands of people, and displaced millions.
Fidan's visit to Damascus came amid fighting in northeastern Syria between the Turkish-backed Syrian army and the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist group. Turkey has been supporting rebels for years seeking to oust al-Assad, as well as harboring millions of Syrian refugees who hope to begin returning home.
Al Jazeera's Resul Sardar, from Damascus, said that Turkey has offered support to the new Syrian regime, “underscoring the need to preserve state institutions”.
“Turkey has been one of the supporters of the opposition in Syria since the beginning of the chaos in 2011. So now Fidan was in Damascus, and he only emphasized the need to keep the weapons of the government,” he said.
A Druze leader from Lebanon also visits
Al-Sharaa on Sunday also hosted the Lebanese Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt as several governments and Syrians expressed concern for the security of minorities under the new Syrian government, including the Kurds, Christians, Alawites, and Druze who are an Arab minority. sprout. of Islam.
“We are proud of our culture, our religion and our Islam. Being part of the Islamic culture does not mean the exclusion of other groups. On the contrary, it is our responsibility to protect them,” al-Sharaa said in his meeting with Jumblatt, in a statement published by Lebanese journalist Al Jadeed.
Jumblatt is the first Lebanese to travel to Syria and meet with the leaders of their new government.
Jumblatt, a former politician and prominent Druze leader, said the removal of al-Assad should be the beginning of a new relationship between Lebanon and Syria. A longtime critic of Syria's involvement in Lebanon, he blamed al-Assad's father, former President Hafez al-Assad, for killing his father decades ago.
“We salute the Syrian people for their great victory and we salute you for your fight to get rid of the oppression and brutality that lasted for more than 50 years,” Jumblatt told al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa, until recently known as Abu Mohammed al-Julanisaid he would send a government delegation to the southwestern Druze town of Sweida in Syria, pledging to provide assistance to the local people to honor the country's “rich ethnic diversity”.
“Syria will no longer be a disturbing issue in Lebanon,” he said.
Al Jazeera reporter Sardar said al-Sharaa has given his assurances that all religious and ethnic groups will be “fairly represented” in Syria.
“Whether the new leadership will be tolerant enough against the minority, whether the minority will be fairly represented in the new Syria or not – this question is repeatedly asked of Ahmad al-Sharaa,” he said.