Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani will visit Türkiye on Thursday, where he will meet his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, Turkish diplomatic sources announced on Wednesday. His talks with Fidan will focus on bilateral relations between the two neighbors and the issue of the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has long remained a security threat to Türkiye.
Diplomatic sources said Fidan and Al-Shaibani are expected to make a comprehensive assessment of multilateral efforts backed by Türkiye to restore permanent stability and security in Syria, where the decades-long oppressive Baathist regime was toppled in a revolution led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa in 2024. Türkiye initially pursued diplomatic efforts to end the civil war and began admitting refugees fleeing attacks by the Assad regime after those efforts failed. It also supported the Syrian opposition in liberating areas near the Turkish border from terrorist groups, including Daesh and the YPG, through landmark cross-border offensives during the civil war.
Sources said Fidan is also expected to highlight the improving counterterrorism capacity of post-Assad Syria and reiterate Türkiye's commitment to cooperation with Syria in this field.
Fidan is also expected to reiterate Türkiye's goal of further strengthening cooperation with Syria within an institutional framework, and the two ministers will discuss future high-level visits between the two countries. President al-Sharaa last visited Türkiye during the NATO summit in July, while Syria's top diplomat has been a frequent visitor. Turkish officials, including Fidan, have also visited Syria, along with other ministers. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has praised the Syrian revolution on every relevant occasion, has not yet visited post-Assad Syria, although he recently hinted at a possible visit in a speech. Fidan is also expected to highlight the need to add a parliamentary dimension to bilateral relations, referring to the convening of Syria's new Parliament last month, the first since the collapse of the Baathist regime.
On the YPG, the two ministers will discuss the progress of the group's integration into the central government in northeastern Syria. Syria has integrated about 9,000 former YPG members into its national security institutions as part of a broader effort to unify the country's armed forces, while appointing a former senior YPG official as a deputy defense minister, according to officials familiar with the process.
The integration marks one of the most significant steps in implementing an agreement between Damascus and the YPG aimed at dissolving the terrorist group. Roughly 5,000 former YPG members have joined the Syrian Defense Ministry, while another 4,000 have been incorporated into the Interior Ministry, officials said. Non-Syrian foreign members previously affiliated with the YPG have been removed from the country as part of the restructuring process.
Syrian authorities describe the process as a gradual, reciprocal approach under which security, administrative and political measures advance simultaneously to build confidence between the two sides.
Military integration has accelerated in recent months, while negotiations continue over local governance, political representation, constitutional reforms and language rights for Kurdish communities.
Fidan will also underline that Israel's policies and actions aimed at undermining Syria's efforts to maintain stability and security are unacceptable and will highlight the importance of Syria continuing its normalization efforts without being drawn into a new cycle of violence.
Diplomatic sources said that during the meeting, the Turkish foreign minister would also emphasize the need for the international community to take action to stop Israel's attacks on Gaza despite the implementation of the second stage of the Gaza peace plan. He is also expected to stress the importance of ending Israel's occupation in southern Lebanon for the sake of regional security and stability. Fidan will further underline Türkiye's support for diplomatic efforts to ensure a cease-fire between the United States and Iran, secure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and achieve lasting peace.