Officials hoisted Turkish flag to country's consulate building in Aleppo, a key Syrian city, as diplomatic mission reopened 12 years later on Monday. Ambassador Burhan Köroğlu, the interim charge d'affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Damascus, which was reopened earlier, accompanied Consul General Hakan Cengiz and dignitaries as the consulate was reopened. Locals also attended the reopening ceremony, chanting celebratory slogans.
Türkiye maintains close ties with the new administration of Syria and was one of the first countries to open its embassy in Syria on Dec. 14 after the fall of the Baathist regime. The embassy was forced to shut down on Mar. 26, 2012, as the unrest in Syria escalated and the staff had to be evacuated to Türkiye.
Türkiye backed the Syrian opposition against Assad when the civil war broke out in 2011. The war displaced millions, and many among them fled to Türkiye, where they lived as refugees for years. In the last year of the war, Türkiye pushed for normalizing ties with the Assad regime, though to no avail. When the Baathist rule of Assad ended in December, Ankara called it a revolution. 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. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to help the new Syrian administration form a state structure and a new constitution as the country looks to rebuild after years of civil war.
