The Turkish Foreign Minister meets the new Syrian President and calls for the lifting of international sanctions Syrian war news

The Turkish Foreign Minister met with the head of the new Syrian administration and promised to help in the political transition process and rebuild the war-torn country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

During their meeting in Damascus on Sunday, Turkish President Hakan Fidan and the de facto ruler of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, stressed the need for unity and stability in Syria, and also called for the lifting of all international sanctions imposed on the war-torn country.

Pictures and footage published by the Turkish Ministry showed Fidan and Al-Shara embracing and shaking hands, and their meeting came two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Fidan would go to Damascus to discuss the new structure in Syria.

Fidan said in the press conference with Al-Sharaa that Turkey “will continue to stand by your side… We hope that Syria’s darkest days have passed (and) better days await us.”

Fidan said that the sanctions imposed on Damascus must be lifted “as soon as possible” and that the international community “needs to mobilize to help Syria get back on its feet and the displaced return.”

Al-Sharaa, who is holding his first public press conference since he led the overthrow of Assad and assumed power two weeks ago, also called on the international community to lift all sanctions imposed on Syria.

“All economic sanctions must be lifted, and now the predator is gone and only the victims remain. The factors of injustice and oppression are gone. Now is the time to lift these sanctions,” the committee chairman said. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

He added: “This regime has been in power for more than 50 years, and some of these sanctions were issued in the 1970s. That is why action must be fast, and these sanctions must be lifted quickly so that we can move our country forward.”

The two officials discussed the necessity of drafting a new Syrian constitution that protects minorities in the country. The issue of Syrian refugees, Israel’s “violations” of Syrian sovereignty, and the issue of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units were also on the agenda.

Then came the opposition’s control of power in Syria 13 years of brutal warIt began as a largely unarmed uprising against Assad in 2011, but eventually turned into an all-out war that attracted foreign powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and turned millions into refugees.

Fidan’s visit to Damascus came amid fighting in northeastern Syria between Syrian fighters supported by Türkiye and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. Türkiye has for years supported rebels seeking to oust Assad, while also hosting millions of Syrian refugees who it hopes will begin to return home.

Al Jazeera’s Rasoul Sardar said, in a report from Damascus, that Turkey had offered assistance to the new Syrian administration, “stressing the importance of preserving and operating state institutions.”

“Türkiye has been one of the main supporters of the Syrian opposition since the uprising began in 2011,” he said. “Now Fidan is in Damascus, and he simply stressed the importance of preserving the state apparatus.”

He also visits the Lebanese Druze leader

On Sunday, Al-Sharaa also hosted Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, as several governments and Syrians alike expressed concerns about the protection of minorities under the new Syrian government, including Kurds, Christians, Alawites and Druze, an Arab minority that practices a branch of its own. Islam.

“We are proud of our culture, religion and Islam. Belonging to the Islamic environment does not mean excluding other sects. On the contrary, our duty is to protect them,” Al-Sharaa said during his meeting with Jumblatt, in statements reported by the Lebanese Al-Jadeed channel.

Jumblatt is the first Lebanese figure to visit Syria and meet with the leaders of its new government.

Jumblatt, a veteran politician and prominent Druze leader, said Assad’s removal should be the beginning of a new era in relations between Lebanon and Syria. He is a long-time critic of Syrian intervention in Lebanon, and blamed Assad’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad, for his father’s assassination decades ago.

Jumblatt told Al-Sharaa: “We salute the Syrian people for their great victories, and we salute you for the battle you fought to get rid of injustice and tyranny that lasted more than 50 years.”

Sharaa, and was known until recently as Abu Muhammad Al-JulaniHe said he would send a government delegation to the Druze city of Suwayda in southwestern Syria, pledging to provide services to its community in order to respect “the country’s rich sectarian diversity.”

He said: “Syria will no longer be a case of passive interference in Lebanon.”

Al Jazeera correspondent Sardar said that Al-Sharaa gave his assurances that all religious and ethnic minorities would be “fairly represented” in Syria.

He said: “Whether or not the new administration will be tolerant enough against minorities, or whether minorities will be fairly represented in the new Syria – this question is repeatedly asked to Ahmed Al-Sharaa.”