Turkish and British officials discussed Syria's future during a meeting in the capital Ankara on Monday, with security, sanctions and economic development on the agenda, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
The meeting was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yılmaz and U.K.'s Hamish Falconer, minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Yılmaz shared Türkiye's assessments of the security, humanitarian and economic conditions in Syria. He underscored the need for a comprehensive approach to the crisis and emphasized the importance of supporting national reconciliation efforts aimed at restoring central governance.
He also reiterated that separatist movements have no place in this process.
According to the sources, Yılmaz said the Syrian administration appears determined to combat all forms of terrorism and highlighted the importance of supporting it in this regard.
"The discussions also addressed Syria's reconstruction and economic development. The issue of lifting sanctions unconditionally and completely – particularly to enable financial flows into the country – was brought up," the sources said.
Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad's fall, but will ensure asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government remain in place.
Boosting the economy is a top priority for Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The United Nations says nine out of 10 Syrians live in poverty.
Syria’s interim finance minister said last month that pay for many public sector workers would be increased by 400% from February at an estimated monthly cost of 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds ($130 million). He cited regional aid as one source of funding for the increase.
Al-Sharaa has repeatedly called for the lifting of Western sanctions, imposed to isolate ousted Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad for his brutal crackdown during Syria's long civil war, which started in 2011, and to generate pressure for a political solution to the conflict.
Ankara has similarly frequently brought up the issue of sanctions relief to its Western interlocutors while the West argues that their policy in Syria has been complicated by the HTS background of the current Syrian administration.
Türkiye and the U.K. agreed to continue consultations on Syria and other regional issues.
The meeting came in the wake of the fall of the Baathist Assad regime in December, with Syria now under a new government led by al-Sharaa.
Calling for a peaceful transitional period and an inclusive government, Ankara has since led the diplomatic efforts to help Syria regain its normalcy and ensure stability in neighboring countries where developments directly affect Türkiye.
Erdoğan has vowed to help the new Syrian administration form a state structure and a new constitution as the country looks to rebuild after 13 years of civil war. Ankara also says it trusts al-Sharaa’s administration in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria, namely the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the YPG. Al-Sharaa has said his administration would not allow the country to serve as a base for the terrorist PKK/YPG and reiterated that Syria must remain united. The PKK/YPG occupies swathes of northeastern Syria in cooperation with the United States under the pretext of the fight against Daesh.
