Blinken Set to Visit Ankara to Discuss Situation in Syria

Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Türkiye, at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Türkiye, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Türkiye, at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Türkiye, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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Blinken Set to Visit Ankara to Discuss Situation in Syria

Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Türkiye, at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Türkiye, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Türkiye, at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Türkiye, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Ankara on Friday to discuss the situation in Syria after the ouster of its President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by opposition factions.
Blinken is set to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, a Turkish official said.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Syria should be governed by its people, following the ousting of Assad's regime, the Turkish Anadolu Agency reported.
The Turkish president made these remarks during a phone call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a press release from the Turkish presidency's communications office said.
Erdogan emphasized during the call that "Türkiye will do its utmost to contribute to building a Syria free from terrorism”. He added that Türkiye has defended Syria's territorial integrity and stability since the beginning of the civil war in 2011," German news agency DPA said.



Erdogan Expects Support from Syria in Türkiye's Battle with PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Expects Support from Syria in Türkiye's Battle with PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Syria's new leadership is determined to root out separatists there, as Ankara said its military had "neutralized" 32 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the country.

A rebellion by groups close to Türkiye ousted Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad last month. Since then, Türkiye-backed Syrian forces have occasionally clashed in the north with US-backed Kurdish forces that Ankara deems terrorists.

"With the revolution in Syria... the hopes of the separatist terrorist organization hit a wall," Erdogan told his party's provincial congress in Trabzon.

"The new administration in Syria is showing an extremely determined stance in preserving the country's territorial integrity and unitary structure," he said.

"The end of the terrorist organization is near. There is no option left other than to surrender their weapons, abandon terrorism, and dissolve the organization. They will face Türkiye's iron fist," Erdogan added.

The defense ministry separately announced the armed forces' operation in northern Syria that it said had "neutralized" - a term that usually means killed - the 32 PKK members. It said Türkiye's military had also "neutralized" four PKK members in northern Iraq, where the militants are based.