Türkiye will reopen its consulate in the Syrian city of Aleppo on January 20

MADRID Jan. 16 () –

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, has announced that his consulate in the Syrian city of Aleppo, in the north of the country, will reopen its doors on January 20, as part of new relations with the transitional government headed ‘ de facto’ by the head of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), Ahmed Hussein al Shara, known as Abu Mohamed al Golani.

“I hope that our consulate general in Aleppo will be operational on January 20,” he said, recalling that the Turkish Embassy in Damascus has been operating again since last month.

The head of Turkish diplomacy made these statements during the press conference held at the end of his meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Hasan al Shaibani.

“Hopefully, we will see that ‘Turkish Airlines’ flights will begin soon,” he celebrated at the conclusion of what is the first visit to the neighboring country by a delegation of the interim government established after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime in December. .

Fidan has reiterated the need for the sanctions to be lifted, arguing that if this occurs, “the country’s normalization process will accelerate, conditions will be created that will make it possible for millions of Syrians to return to their country,” in addition to “the ability of Syria to fight terrorist organizations like the Islamic State will increase.

In this sense, he has defended that the “intense diplomatic effort” has made possible the “partial exemption from sanctions” approved by the US authorities and, as he noted, “the European Union is working” in the same direction.

Asked about the political process in the neighboring country, Fidan reiterated his “support” for the new authorities, of whom he highlighted their “inclusive approach.” “It is time for all religious, ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria to embrace each other. As Turkey, we support the efforts of the National Dialogue Conference to reflect the will of all its components in Syria,” he assured.

One of the issues that the Syrian and Turkish ministers have addressed is the fight against terrorism: “There is no place for terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)/People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Islamic State in the new Syria. We will never consent to the dismemberment of Syria,” he defended.

Also present at the hearing were the Turkish Defense Minister, Yasar Güler, the country’s Director of Intelligence, Ibrahim Kalin, and their Syrian counterparts: Murhef Abu Kasra and Enes Khattab, respectively.