Syria’s Sharaa to Visit Turkiye on Tuesday

Rabat – Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to touch down in Turkiye on Tuesday, the second country on his official diplomatic tour post the toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Fahrettin Altun, head of communications of the Turkish presidency, wrote on his X on Monday that Sharaa “will pay a visit to Ankara on Tuesday at the invitation of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

Marking the second official visit by Sharaa since he took office, talks with his Turkish counterpart will focus on exploring “joint steps to be taken for economic recovery, sustainable stability and security” in ravaged Syria, according to Altun.

“We believe that the Turkey-Syria relations, which were re-established after Syria regained its freedom, will be strengthened and gain dimension,” Altun added.

In a similar vein, Sharaa’s first official visit to Saudi Arabia centered on improving bilateral ties and regional developments, as well as humanitarian and economic cooperation.

Observers and analysts believe that Syria’s de facto leader’s recent visit to the Gulf country reflects a change in Syria’s foreign diplomacy, shifting away from Iran, the country’s traditional regional ally.

Following the visit, Sharaa said in a written statement that talks with Saudi’s Mohammed bin Salman particularly included “extensive future plans in the fields of energy, technology, education, and health.”

Both visits are part of Syria’s new interim government efforts to garner support and secure diplomatic allies in the Middle East region.

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to help the war-torn Syria in its transition phase have led the EU and the US to consider alleviating sanctions imposed on the country since the civil war outbrook following the shockwave of protest.

The US decided on January 7 to mitigate some of its sanctions imposed on the country, with what they said is the aim “to support the Syrian people.”

The EU then followed in the US’ footsteps, approving, on January 27, a roadmap for lifting sanctions step by step over the period of one year.

Bashaar Al-Assad was ousted by a Syrian rebel group led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on December 8, 2024, marking Syria’s freedom from a 50-year dictatorship.

Since then, the interim government is seeking regional allies and working to urge an international sanctions’ lift to help reconstruct the devastated country, revive the economy, and bring back quality of life to desperate Syrians.