The insurgent chief who’s now the Syrian interim president met on Tuesday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, the place the 2 males pledged to work collectively to rebuild Syria after 13 years of civil battle.
The assembly was Mr. Erdogan’s first with Ahmed al-Shara, who led the offensive that toppled Syria’s autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad, final month. Each nations have quite a bit using on their relationship, and the general public feedback by the 2 leaders after they met within the capital, Ankara, made clear that they’re each trying to the longer term.
Mr. al-Shara, who was appointed interim president by a bunch of insurgent leaders throughout a closed-door assembly final week, thanked Mr. Erdogan and his individuals for his or her assist for Syrian refugees and for the Syrian opposition in the course of the battle. He stated that Syria sought a “deep, strategic relationship in all fields” that might profit each nations.
This would come with growing a “shared technique to confront safety threats within the area,” he stated, particularly mentioning northeastern Syria, which is managed by a Kurdish-led militia that’s not underneath Mr. al-Shara’s authority.
Turkey considers that militia, which is backed by the US to combat the jihadists of the Islamic State, a terrorist group due to its ties to Kurdish militants in Turkey and Iraq who’ve battled the Turkish state.
Mr. Erdogan, too, spoke of unifying all of Syria underneath the brand new authorities and stated he appreciated the brand new authorities’ “robust will to combat terror,” a reference to the Kurdish-led militia.
Turkey shares an extended border with Syria, hosts greater than three million Syrian refugees and had chilly relations with Mr. al-Assad for years. Mr. Erdogan started talking of mending ties not lengthy earlier than Mr. al-Assad’s ouster.
Turkey worries that instability in Syria could lead on extra refugees to flee or stop these already in Turkey from returning residence. Turkey additionally has navy posts in northwestern Syria and immediately backs Syrian armed teams close to the border.
For Mr. al-Shara, Turkey may present essential assist as he faces the monumental duties of unifying Syria, reviving its battered economic system and remodeling a constellation of militias right into a nationwide military.
Turkey has been interacting with armed teams that Mr. al-Shara has led since early within the battle as a result of they managed vital territory alongside Turkey’s southern border, and Turkish officers have been among the many first to go to him in Damascus after Mr. al-Assad’s fall.
Mr. al-Shara arrived in Ankara on a Turkish state jet and was welcomed on the runway by Turkey’s vitality and pure sources minister, Alparslan Bayraktar.
Mr. Erdogan stated that Turkey stood prepared to assist Syria rebuild its infrastructure and that it will work for the lifting of the broad sanctions imposed on the nation to punish Mr. al-Assad. The sanctions may impede reconstruction efforts.
Mr. al-Shara concluded his remarks by inviting Mr. Erdogan to go to Syria and the 2 males warmly gripped fingers.
Regardless of Turkey’s shut ties with the brand new authorities in Damascus, it’s struggling to repair its personal economic system after years of populist spending and persistently excessive inflation. It might be tough for it to offer Syria with the financing it must restart the economic system and start rebuilding communities that have been decreased to rubble in the course of the battle.
So Mr. al-Shara has additionally labored to construct ties with the US, European nations and Gulf Arab leaders.
Final week, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, grew to become the primary head of state to go to Mr. al-Shara in Damascus. And on Monday, Mr. al-Shara met in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the dominion’s de facto ruler. To what extent these leaders will assist fund the brand new Syria stays to be seen.
Mr. al-Shara, a former member of Al Qaeda, introduced a public break with the group years in the past and now expresses extra average Islamist views. The militia he leads stays categorized as a terrorist group by the US and different nations.
Safak Timur contributed reporting.
