Turkish foreign minister meets head of new Syrian administration

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has met with the leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmad al Sharaa.

Sunday's meeting in the Syrian capital, Damascus, comes two weeks after Bashar al Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, was toppled in a lightning operation by opposition forces.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and Türkiye’s Acting Charge d'Affaires at the Damascus Embassy, Burhan Koroglu, were also in the meeting.

Esaad Hassan Shaibani, who was appointed the Syrian interim government’s foreign minister, also met the Turkish delegation.

A top US diplomat for the Middle East also travelled to Damascus on Friday, according to the State Department. He met officials from Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) to discuss the need for an “inclusive” political process.

The meeting marks the first between US officials and the HTS days after Assad fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on December 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

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