site.btaTurkish President Erdogan Vows Support for Syrian Government

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated his country’s support for Syria, saying that thanks to the strong position of interim President Ahmed al Sharaa Israel’s plans to destabilize the country have been neutralized, Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber (News) reported Monday.

Israel is constantly making efforts to destabilize the entire region, Erdogan said, but thanks to Syria, this process has proceeded cautiously. The Syrian government has taken control of the Sweida region with its 2,500 soldiers, Erdogan told reporters at a press conference on the plane back from the Ankara-recognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Erdogan evaluated highly the steps his Syrian counterpart has taken, saying that the Syrian people have learned from their past and will not give into the attempts at destabilization.

"[Turkish] Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is holding talks with the US special envoy [to Syria Tom Barrack], while [Turkish] Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kallen and Defence Minister Yasar Guler are also talking to their counterparts," Erdogan added. “The meetings in the Jordanian capital Amman have been going on for two days. The tribal leaders, the Jordanians and the US special envoy are in constant contact with us," Erdogan said.

The Turkish President vowed not to "leave al Sharaa alone". The interim president took charge after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

"We do not want the territory of Syria to be divided. We believe that the reconstruction of Syria is beneficial for Turkiye because it will contribute to a more fruitful cooperation with us. We see that Syrians in Turkiye have begun to return voluntarily to their homeland, although there was an expectation that they would not do so. For our part, we support them in their desire to return. We would like to see the acceleration of this process and the accelerated normalisation of Syria," the Turkish President added.