# Turkey and Syria Move From Hostility to Structured Partnership Built on Trade, Security and Transit Links *Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 2:06 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk* **Published**: 2026-09-13T14:06:12.185Z (2h ago) **Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East **Importance**: 8/10 **Sources**: OSINT **Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/17712.md **Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries --- **Deck**: At a joint press conference in Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al‑Shaibani and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presented fast‑deepening ties since Syria’s claimed ‘liberation’ in late 2024, outlining joint committees, new agreements and plans for transport and energy corridors as Ankara prepares a presidential visit. Syrian and Turkish officials are presenting their relationship as a fast‑expanding partnership, shifting from years of open hostility to detailed plans for political, economic and security cooperation. Speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Damascus, Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad Hassan al‑Shaibani said their meeting, held just days after talks in Ankara, reflected a “rapidly expanding partnership” and a “strategic direction” the two countries are pursuing together. He linked the acceleration to what Damascus describes as Syria’s “liberation” on 8 December 2024 and to an end to its international isolation, which Syrian officials frame as including a turning of the page on the U.S. Caesar Act. Fidan said Syrian‑Turkish relations have made unprecedented progress over the past two years following what he called liberation. He argued that Syria is seeing significant improvement not only in ties with Türkiye but also with the wider world. Fidan said an upcoming visit by Turkey’s president to Syria is planned “in the near future,” and that Ankara has wanted this visit for a long time and is working to arrange the necessary conditions. The ministers described a dense institutional architecture to manage the new relationship. Al‑Shaibani said talks focused on activating the Joint Higher Committee as the main framework for political, diplomatic, economic and security cooperation, as well as energy, refugee returns, education and culture. The committee will be jointly chaired, meet regularly and have a permanent secretariat, with specialized sub‑committees to follow up on decisions. Al‑Shaibani cast domestic consolidation inside Syria as the basis for this external partnership. He said that over the past 20 months, Syria has restored state institutions, unified sovereign decision‑making and is moving toward building a single national army and placing all weapons under the authority of legitimate institutions. He also said Syria has “turned the page” on the Caesar Act and is seeing a strong acceleration in ties with Türkiye. According to al‑Shaibani, Ankara and Damascus have held dozens of presidential and ministerial‑level meetings, signed 40 agreements and memoranda of understanding, and set up institutional frameworks to carry cooperation forward. Economic integration featured prominently. Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Fidan noted, visited Damascus and Aleppo with a business delegation to discuss increasing investments in the coming period. Al‑Shaibani said closing Syria’s nuclear file at the International Atomic Energy Agency was an important development and that Syria wants to make constructive contributions to clearing remaining obstacles from the past. Fidan emphasized Syria’s geography as a regional connector. He said there is a Syria that links to the Gulf through Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to Iraq and the East, and to Europe through Türkiye, and that Ankara wants this to be realized through railways, highways and pipelines. He described a vision of Syria connecting to the Gulf, Iraq and Europe not only on the map but in practice via transport and energy corridors. On regional security, Israeli actions were a central theme. Al‑Shaibani said Israeli occupation forces continue to violate Syria’s sovereignty and carry out incursions into its southern territories, targeting peaceful villages and civilian property. He pointed to the 18 August attack on Abu al‑Duhur Air Base as a strike that went beyond its immediate military impact and sent a destabilizing message aimed at undermining Syria’s state‑building. Fidan said Israel is in a “conditioned state” that, in his view, was also visible in what he called the Gaza genocide, and that Israel cannot imagine a policy other than bloodshed. He said Israel has two policies in the region: occupying Palestinian territories while excluding Palestinians and preventing a Palestinian state, and preventing Arab Muslim countries — especially neighbors such as Syria, as well as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt — from becoming strong, economically prosperous, stable and independent. Fidan argued that by systematically targeting Syria’s military capacity, Israel indirectly supports terrorist organizations such as Daesh. He said the basis for reaching a permanent solution with Israel in the south is clear, describing a security arrangement based on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement as the only realistic framework and calling for a more decisive and results‑oriented stance from the international community. Fidan also spoke more broadly about regional principles, saying that as long as everyone stays within their own borders, doesn’t covet others’ land and doesn’t work to destabilize neighbors, there is enough economic prosperity, happiness and peace for all. He said Turkey believes Syria will play a vital role after recent events in the Strait of Hormuz, and that Ankara wants the country’s role as a land bridge — to the Gulf, Iraq, the East and Europe — to be built practically through rail, road and pipeline links. Syrian officials, for their part, stressed that a strong partnership begins with a cohesive domestic front. They said sustained efforts over the past 20 months have restored institutions and unified decision‑making, and described Syria as healing its wounds and prospering day by day, arguing this is good not only for Syrians but for the wider region. They also praised what they called Türkiye’s principled stance at a pivotal moment, saying it would remain etched in Syria’s national memory and that, on that basis, Damascus and Ankara have deepened their partnership faster than any of Syria’s other bilateral relationships. The most concrete steps to watch now are whether Turkey’s presidential visit to Syria takes place on the stated timetable, how quickly the Joint Higher Committee meets and begins issuing decisions, and whether work starts on the railways, highways and pipelines both sides describe as central to their shared future.