Syria’s new interim leader, meeting on Tuesday with the president of Turkey, thanked him for backing the rebel forces that toppled the Assad dictatorship and said he now sought

NATO member Turkey has long backed Syria's armed and political opposition to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in late December in a lightning offensive spearheaded by Sharaa's forces.

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa began their meeting at the Presidential Complex in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday. The closed-door talks started at 1400GMT. Meanwhile, Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdogan met with Sharaa's wife, Latife Al-Durubi.

Speaking alongside Sharaa at a press conference in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkiye was ready to help Syria’s new leadership in the battle against both the militant Islamic State group and Kurdish militants, and added he believed the voluntary return of Syrian migrants would accelerate as Syria became more stable.

Syria's new interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, where they discussed improved security ties and how to respond to Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria. Sharra flew into Turkey from Saudi Arabia where he sought Riyadh's funding to rebuild Syria after a devastating 13-year civil war.

Syria's newly appointed president for a transitional phase Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, February 4, 2025. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS CAIRO (Reuters) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa invited Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to visit Syria soon in a joint press conference in Ankara on Tuesday,