A high-level Turkish delegation, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, visits Damascus

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received in the capital, Damascus, on Monday, a high-ranking Turkish delegation that included Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and the head of the intelligence service, Ibrahim Kalin.

The Turkish Anatolia news agency quoted the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying in a statement that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani was at the forefront of receiving the Turkish delegation at Damascus International Airport.

Also present at the reception were Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Intelligence Chief Hussein Salama.

After the reception ceremony ended at the airport, the Turkish delegation headed to the “People’s Palace” to meet with President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Fidan said, during a joint press conference held with his Syrian counterpart, that the talks focused on integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian army, in addition to the Israeli military incursions into southern Syria, and the war against ISIS, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Fidan added, “Syrian stability is of great importance to Türkiye.”

On March 10, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the leader of the SDF, Farhad Abdi Shaheen, known as Mazloum Abdi, signed an agreement to merge the civilian and military institutions in the northeast of the country into the state administration, but the organization is delaying its implementation.

Al-Shaibani said, “We did not see any serious initiative or will from the Syrian Democratic Forces to implement this agreement, but there was systematic procrastination.”

Al-Shaibani added, “Damascus submitted a proposal to the Syrian Democratic Forces to move forward with the military integration process, and received a response yesterday, Sunday,” without providing additional details.

The visit of the Turkish delegation to Damascus comes within the framework of a comprehensive assessment of the course of Turkish-Syrian relations in their political, economic and security dimensions, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.
The Turkish delegation in Damascus is expected to discuss following up on the process of implementing the March 10 agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

It is expected that the visit will also focus on the security risks resulting from the Israeli attacks in southern Syria.

The Turkish delegation will also discuss with the Syrian side, within the framework of common interests and Syria’s recent accession to the international coalition to fight ISIS, ways of joint cooperation to prevent the revival of ISIS and prevent it from exploiting any vacuum that may arise on the Syrian scene.