Turkish FM meets Syria's interim president in aftermath of Druze and Bedouin clashes
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus on Thursday, as the new government struggles to unify and assert control over the country.
Syria's state-run news agency SANA said only that the "two sides discussed regional and global developments and ways to enhance joint cooperation in various fields."
Ankara has been a strong backer of the interim government in Damascus since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in a lightning rebel offensive in December.
Last month, Syria requested Turkey's support to strengthen its defence capabilities following sectarian violence that increased tensions in the country and drew an Israeli military intervention.
Clashes erupted last month between members of Bedouin tribes and armed factions from the Druze religious minority in the southern Suwayda province.
Government forces that intervened, ostensibly to quell the fighting, ended up siding with the Bedouins.
Israel then launched strikes on government convoys in Suwayda and on the Defence Ministry headquarters in Damascus, saying it was acting to protect the Druze.
Turkey has been vocally critical of Israeli intervention in Syria and also wants to curb the influence of the Kurdish groups controlling north-eastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been a key US ally in the fight against the so-called Islamic State terrorist group.
Ankara however regards the SDF as a terrorist group and the Syrian off-shoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.
In March, the SDF and Damascus reached an agreement to merge their forces, but its details were vague and the deal has not been implemented.
Turkish defence ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations, accused the SDF on Thursday of not following through on its commitment.
They said Ankara remains "committed to supporting the Syrian administration’s fight against terrorist organizations and to providing the requested training, advisory, and technical assistance to strengthen its defence and security capacity."