22.12.2025 12:35
According to information obtained from sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and MIT President İbrahim Kalın traveled to the Syrian capital, Damascus, on December 22, 2025. The delegation will meet with President Bashar and Syrian officials. The implementation of the March 10 Agreement will be discussed during the visit.
The statement included the following expressions:
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and MIT President İbrahim Kalın will pay a working visit to the Syrian capital Damascus on December 22, 2025, and will meet with President Shara and Syrian officials.
During the meetings, it is anticipated that the political, economic, and security dimensions of Turkey-Syria relations will be comprehensively evaluated in the context of the visit to be made following the first anniversary of the overthrow of the Assad regime on December 8, and the progress of the implementation of the March 10 Agreement, which closely concerns Turkey's national security priorities, will be discussed.
Additionally, it is expected that the security risks emerging in southern Syria due to Israel's aggression will be addressed during the visit. Cooperation to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, which is trying to take advantage of the vulnerabilities that may arise in the Syrian field in the context of Turkey and Syria's common interests and Syria's recent participation in the International Coalition to Combat ISIS (DMUK), will also be discussed.
In addition to the security issues that will be the focus of the meeting, it is also planned to evaluate the projects carried out at the bilateral level for the reconstruction of Syria and to support the capacity-building efforts of the Syrian Government. Nuh Yılmaz, who has been appointed as Turkey's Ambassador to Damascus, will also travel to Damascus on the occasion of this visit.
MUTUAL VISITS IN 3+3 FORMAT
In the one-year period following the overthrow of the Assad regime, significant momentum has been achieved in Turkey-Syria relations in many areas, and historic cooperation opportunities have emerged, especially in the fields of security and economy.
While Turkey supports the healing of the wounds of the Syrian conflict, which has lasted for nearly 15 years, it is also making the necessary effort to evaluate new cooperation opportunities in a way that serves the stability and security of Syria in line with the interests of both countries. In this context, Minister Fidan first visited Syria on December 22, 2024, following the overthrow of the Assad regime. In the subsequent period, as a natural result of the positive atmosphere that emerged in the new era in Syria, mutual high-level visits between Turkey and Syria have continued without losing momentum. In this context, the meetings held in a 3+3 format between the two countries also hold significant importance. In this framework, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hasan Sheybani, accompanied by a high-level delegation, visited Turkey on January 15, 2025. During the visit, Foreign Minister Fidan, Minister of National Defense Güler, and MIT President Kalın met with their Syrian counterparts. Following this meeting, Minister Fidan, along with Minister of National Defense Güler and MIT President Kalın, paid a working visit to Syria on March 13, 2025. Another meeting addressing security cooperation and current developments between the two countries was held on October 12, 2025, in Ankara, with the participation of Minister Fidan, Minister of National Defense Güler, MIT President Kalın, and their Syrian counterparts.
Details are coming...