Turkish FM meets new Syrian leadership in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived here Sunday for talks with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Commander Ahmad al-Shara, Syrian local media reported.

The official media channels posted photos of both Fidan and al-Shara, one of which showed Fidan hugging al-Shara.

Details regarding the agenda or duration of Fidan's visit were not immediately available.

Turkish semi-official Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed Turkish diplomatic sources, also reported the meeting between Fidan and al-Shara, which it said was also attended by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz, Burhan Koroglu, acting charge d'affaires at the Turkish embassy in Damascus, and Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Syria's interim foreign minister.

Meanwhile, Syria's news outlet al-Watan Online reported that a Turkish business group arrived in Aleppo on Sunday, marking the first Turkish economic delegation to visit the city's Chamber of Commerce in some 13 years.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Fidan would visit Syria soon to discuss creating a "collaborative framework" for Syria's future.

Al-Shara, also known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, led a 12-day military operation that resulted in the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on Dec. 8. ■