Turkey's president holds talks in Ankara with new Syrian leader

Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, held talks in Ankara on Tuesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Their meeting was the first since the former rebel leader led the opposition offensive that last month toppled Syria’s former autocratic ruler, Bashar al-Assad.

Ankara reopened its diplomatic mission in Syria and sent its spy chief and foreign ministers with talks with him soon after the rebels overthrew Assad.

Erdogan told Sharaa his country would not abandon Syria and will continue to provide it with the necessary support.

Turkey was a strong backer of groups opposed to Assad during the country’s 13-year civil war and is considered to be one of the new administration’s key allies.

Erdogan’s office earlier said talks would focus on steps toward Syria’s economic recovery and its security and stability.

Sharaa, who was appointed interim president last week, is hoping for financial assistance to rebuild the country and its economy which was ravaged by the war.

Turkey is keen to secure Damascus’ support against Kurdish militants in north-eastern Syria. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been fighting Ankara-backed forces in that region.

Turkey, which shares a 910-kilometre border with Syria, views the Syrian Kurdish militia as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

It is pressing for the group to disband.

Turkey hosted the greatest number of Syrian refugees following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 — more than 3.8 million at its peak in 2022.

The visit to Turkey was Sharaa’s second trip abroad since taking office.

On Sunday he travelled to Saudi Arabia where he met with its de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.