Fidan came to the capital Damascus as part of his visit to Syria. Fidan was welcomed by his Syrian counterpart Assad Hasan Shaybani at Damascus International Airport. Türkiye's Ambassador to Damascus and Special Representative for Syria Nuh Yılmaz were also present at the welcome.
Fidan's two-day visit to Syria, which is expected to be received by Syrian President Ahmed Shara and meet with Syrian Interior Minister Enes Hattab today, constitutes an indicator of the close cooperation established between the two countries in every field since December 8, 2024.
Fidan speaks at a joint press conference with Şeybani as part of the visit.
POSSIBLE VISIT OF PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN
Highlights from Minister Fidan's speech are as follows:
"I would like to thank Mr. Şeybani and his friends for their hospitality. I would like to convey our President's heartfelt greetings and love to the Syrian people. Syria-Turkey relations have gained incredible momentum for 2 years. Syria had to make a new start not only in its relations with Turkey, but also in its relations with the world. The departure of the old Syria and the arrival of the new Syria has been an issue that brought stability, peace, economic development to the region and advanced the fight against terrorism.
I hope all wars in our region will end, just like in Syria. But there are also many ongoing crises. Among the topics we talked about is our President's planned visit to Syria. We also reviewed the work that can be done on this subject.
"TERMINATION OF SDF IS AN IMPORTANT STEP"
Positive developments continue in Syria. One of these was the good news about the integration process. The dissolution of the SDF is an important step, an important response to the work of the Syrian government. We expect this to evolve into practice without delay. Not only the SDF, but also all armed groups from the war period are being united under the national army.
It is important for Syrians to express themselves freely on the basis of equal citizenship. We expect Kurdish citizens to become more self-confident and prosperous during the integration process. Türkiye shows great sensitivity on this issue.
The United States removed Syria from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. This is important news. This is news that particularly concerns investors. We congratulate them.
'SYRIA IS GETTING RID OF THE OBSTACLES INHERITIVE FROM THE FORMER REGIME'
Syria's nuclear file has also been closed. As Türkiye, we strive to provide all kinds of constructive contributions on this issue. Our brothers are freeing themselves from the obstacles inherited from the old regime.
We aim to increase our bilateral trade volume to 10 billion dollars. After the recent events in the Strait of Hormuz, we think that Syria will play a vital role in this issue. There is a Syria connected to Europe through Türkiye. We aim to make this happen in practice with the highways and railways to be built.
We see that Syria is developing economically every day. This is important news not only for the Syrian people but for the region.
'ISRAEL INDIRECTLY SUPPORTS TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS LIKE ISIS'
The policies pursued by Israel constitute the most serious obstacle to a positive trend. Israel's attacks also harm the fight against terrorism. Israel indirectly supports terrorist organizations such as DAESH. We know that Israel is involved in what is happening in southern Syria. They don't hide it themselves anyway.
"We will continue close cooperation with our Syrian brothers in every field."
STRENGTHENING COOPERATION WILL BE DISCUSSED
Fidan, who is expected to reiterate Türkiye's will to further strengthen the institutional framework and legal basis of the ongoing cooperation with Syria in many areas including trade, energy, transportation and connectivity, and to share his evaluations especially regarding regional connectivity projects, is expected to discuss the developments regarding the integration process in Syria, which is of close concern to Türkiye, especially the dissolution of the SDF, and to emphasize the importance of timely implementation of the decisions taken on this issue.
Minister Fidan is expected to exchange views on strengthening the state authority in Syria on an inclusive basis and ensuring that all components of the Syrian society, including Turkmens, contribute to the unity and prosperity of the country on the basis of equal citizenship.
