After an official reception and a meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkiye’s state media captured the two leaders shaking hands.
Erdogan’s office claimed Erdogan’s government welcomed the lifting of the sanctions. In a statement on X, he added that Turkiye will continue to oppose Israel’s occupation and aggression in Syrian territory.
The leaders discussed “a number of mutual files,” according to the presidency of Syria’s quick statement that was made public through state media.
The talks, which were held behind closed doors for the press, included Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, National Intelligence Organization director Ibrahim Kalin, and Turkish Defence Industries secretary Haluk Gorgun.
His foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani and his defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra were with Al-Sharaa, who had a sizable support from Turkey, in ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Erdogan also met the interim leader of Syria in Ankara in the country’s capital in early February, marking his second international visit since meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh.
As regional allies helped persuade US President Donald Trump to lift severe sanctions against Syria, the two parties have been talking about approving bilateral relations and starting a reconstruction of Syria.
The first sanctions were lifted by Washington on Friday as part of Trump’s push to expand its footprint during his regional tour earlier this month. In response, the European Union lifted economic sanctions to aid in Syria’s recovery from years of civil war.
The new Syrian government welcomed the lifting of the sanctions, and its ministry of foreign affairs on Saturday described it as a “positive step in the right direction to reduce the country’s humanitarian and economic struggles.”
When Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez, was in power, the US began imposing sanctions against Syria in 1979. However, they were significantly raised when the al-Assad government launched a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2011, which led to the country’s civil war, which resulted in the displacement of millions and the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
Any person or business involved in the al-Assad regime, including those involved in the country’s reconstruction, was targeted by the sanctions.
Source: Aljazeera
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