The meeting takes place two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his minister will go to Damascus to talk about Syria's new structure.
In a meeting with the leader of Syria's new government, Turkey's foreign minister pledged assistance in the political transition and reconstruction of the war-torn nation after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government.
Hakan Fidan of Turkey and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria, met in Damascus on Sunday and emphasized the need for stability and unity in Syria while calling for the revocation of all international sanctions on the war-torn nation.
Two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Fidan would go to Damascus to discuss the new structure in Syria, Fidan and al-Sharaa embraced and shook hands in photos and video released by the Turkish ministry.
Fidan said that Türkiye "will continue to stand by your side" at the press conference with al-Sharaa. I hope that Syria's worst times are behind and that brighter times are ahead.
According to Fidan, the international community "needs to mobilize to help Syria get back on its feet and for the displaced people to return," and sanctions on Damascus must be withdrawn "as soon as possible."
Al-Sharaa also urged the world community to remove all sanctions on Syria at his first press conference in public since spearheading the effort to overthrow al-Assad and take power two weeks ago.
Since the predator is no longer there and just the victims are left, all economic consequences must be removed. The elements of tyranny and injustice are no longer present. The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization said that the moment has come to abolish these restrictions.
Some of these restrictions were imposed in the 1970s, and this system has ruled for more than 50 years. Therefore, in order for us to go ahead as a nation, we must act immediately and abolish these restrictions.
The need to develop a new Syrian constitution that safeguards the nation's minorities was highlighted by the two authorities. The agenda also included the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) problem, Israel's "violations" of Syrian sovereignty, and the Syrian refugee crisis.
After 13 years of bloody conflict, which began in 2011 as a mostly non-armed rebellion against al-Assad but ultimately escalated into a full-scale conflict that attracted international forces, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and forced millions of people to flee their homes, the opposition took control of Syria.
Fidan's trip to Damascus coincided with fighting in northeast Syria between the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization, and Syrian rebels supported by Turkey. For years, Türkiye has supported rebels who want to overthrow al-Assad and is also housing millions of Syrian refugees it hopes will begin to return home.
"Emphasizing the importance of keeping the state institutions up and running," Türkiye has offered assistance to the new Syrian government, according to Resul Sardar of Al Jazeera, who reported from Damascus.
Since the commencement of the revolt in 2011, Turkey has been a major supporter of the Syrian opposition. Fidan, who was currently in Damascus, just underlined the need of maintaining the state apparatuses, he added.
As a number of governments and Syrians alike express concerns about the protection of minorities under the new Syrian government, including the Kurds, Christians, Alawites, and the Druze, an Arab minority that practices an offshoot of Islam, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt also visited Al-Sharaa on Sunday.
"We are proud of our Islam, our culture, and our faith. Other sects are not excluded only because they are a part of the Islamic context. In remarks aired by Lebanese station Al Jadeed during his meeting with Jumblatt, al-Sharaa said, "On the contrary, it is our duty to protect them."
The first Lebanese person to go to Syria and meet with the new government's leaders is Jumblatt.
According to Jumblatt, a well-known Druze leader and seasoned politician, the overthrow of al-Assad should mark the start of a new chapter in Lebanon-Syria ties. He has always opposed Syria's engagement in Lebanon and accused previous President Hafez al-Assad of being responsible for his father's murder some decades before.
Jumblatt addressed al-Sharaa, "We salute you for your battle to eradicate oppression and tyranny that lasted more than 50 years, and we salute the Syrian people for their great victories."
Al-Sharaa, who was formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said that he would send a government team to Sweida, a Druze city in southwest Syria, promising to serve the local population in order to respect the nation's "rich diversity of sects."
He declared that Syria will no longer be a source of unfavorable meddling in Lebanon.
Al-Sharaa has promised that all religious and ethnic minorities would be "fairly represented" in Syria, according to Sardar, a journalist for Al Jazeera.
Ahmad al-Sharaa was questioned frequently. "The question is whether the new administration will be tolerant enough against the minorities, whether the minorities will be fairly represented in a new Syria or not," he remarked.
