Syria’s Al-Sharaa set for first foreign visit to Turkiye, reports say

Shafaq News/ Syria’s new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) head, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, is set to make his first foreign visit to Turkiye soon, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Al-Sharaa is expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss various issues, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group predominantly composed of Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkiye considers a terrorist organization.

So far, neither Turkiye nor Syria has commented on the reports of the visit.

Notably, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was among the first officials to visit Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Previously, Erdogan pledged to assist the new Syrian administration in forming a state structure and drafting a new constitution as the country seeks to rebuild after 13 years of civil war. The Turkish president also warned of a potential new cross-border operation into Syria against Kurdish armed factions if his country perceives a threat.