• Despite being constrained by its own economic crisis, Turkiye is offering to help with Syria’s recovery after a devastating civil war
• In return, Turkiye is keen to secure Damascus’s support against Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria

ANKARA: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hailed Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa for his “strong commitment” to fighting terror as the newly-installed interim president made his first official visit to Turkiye.

“I would like to express our satisfaction for the strong commitment my brother Ahmed Al-Sharaa has shown in the fight against terrorism,” he said at a joint news conference after the pair held talks in Ankara.

Turkiye was a key backer of the militants who ousted Syrian strongman Bashar Assad on December 8.

It has repeatedly offered operational and military support to help Al-Sharaa’s new government fight against militant groups still operational in war-torn Syria.

Erdogan has repeatedly called for action to root out Daesh militants as well as Kurdish militants based in northeastern Syria whom Turkiye sees as a strategic threat over their ties to its domestic nemesis, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).

“I told (Al-Sharaa) we are ready to provide the necessary support to Syria in the fight against all kinds of terrorism, whether it be Daesh or the PKK,” he said.

He also reiterated Turkiye’s offer to help run prisons holding Daesh fighters in northeastern Syria, which are currently run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“We stand with them in the context of controlling the camps in northeastern Syria,” Erdogan said.

The SDF is seen by many in the West as crucial to keeping the extremists at bay, but Turkiye views it as a terrorist outfit and has threatened military action against it if it does not disband.

“For the safety of our countries and our region, we have no other option than to join forces toward the same goal,” he said.

AFP