Erdogan speaks with Sharaa in Ankara about the fight against Kurdish militants

Reuters

ANKARA, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had discussed in Ankara on Tuesday steps to be taken against Kurdish militants in northeast Syria.
Speaking alongside Sharaa at a news conference in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help Syria’s new leadership in the battle against both Islamic State and Kurdish militants.
Erdogan also said he believed the voluntary return of Syrian migrants would accelerate as Syria became more stable.
“We are working on building a strategic partnership with Turkey to confront the security threats in the region to guarantee permanent security and stability to Syria and Turkey”, Sharaa said.
Ankara severed ties with Damascus in 2011 after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, during which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad.

POSITIVE

ANKARA, Feb. 4 (Reuters) — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reported that he and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the recently appointed president of Syria, had discussed Tuesday in Ankara the measures to be taken against Kurdish militants in central Syria.

Erdogan said Turkey was prepared to support Syria’s new leadership in the fight against Kurdish militants and Islamic State while speaking alongside Sharaa at a news conference in Ankara.

Erdogan added that as Syria stabilized, he thought the voluntary repatriation of Syrian migrants would increase.

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The new Damascus government needs Arab and Muslim nations’ financial and non-financial support during the transition, he said, adding that Turkey would keep pushing for the lifting of international sanctions placed on Syria under former President Bashar al-Assad’s leadership.

As relations between the two neighbors continue to improve, Sharaa invited Erdogan to visit Syria and stated that his government was looking for a “strategic partnership” with Turkey.

“To address the regional security threats and ensure Syria and Turkey have long-term security and stability, we are constructing a strategic partnership with Turkey,” Sharaa stated.

Following the start of Syria’s civil war, in which it backed rebels attempting to overthrow Assad, Ankara broke off relations with Damascus in 2011.

Sharaa has also talked about economic ties while in Turkey, as Turkish manufacturing and transportation companies have ambitious plans to expand into Syria, which some predict will triple trade.

Tuvan Gumrukcu wrote the article, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jaidaa Taha, and Menna Alaa El Din reported it, and Ece Toksabay and Gareth Jones edited it.

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