“We will soon open our consulate general in Aleppo,” Erdogan said during a speech at the party’s parliamentary bloc meeting in Ankara.
He also praised the Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) for “managing the ongoing phase well” and for his “moderate and constructive” messages.
Erdogan also noted that Ankara plans to open consulates in multiple cities across Syria.
“We are delighted when we see our flag side by side with the flag of free Syria in Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Homs, Daraa, and Manbij,” he said.
Earlier this month, Turkey announced that it will reopen its embassy in Damascus, after a 12-year-hiatus following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Turkey closed its embassy in March 2012 amid calls by Ankara for Assad to step down a year after the Syrian civil war erupted. Four months later, Turkish foreign ministry recalled its consul general in Aleppo, as clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces intensified.
Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the northern cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs. Their victory culminated with capturing the capital Damascus as rebels said Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
While speaking at the Doha Forum earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan criticized Assad and said he failed to capitalize on the window provided by the Astana peace process since 2016 to reconcile with the Syrian people and end the war.
Throughout the conflict in Syria, Turkey has supported rebel forces, including those with links to al-Qaeda and other extremist groups. Turkey has also launched repeated incursions into Syrian territory, most notably against the Kurds in Afrin in 2018, and continues to occupy large swathes of the country’s north.
