Turkey will reopen its embassy in Damascus, Syria, tomorrow, after it was closed in 2012, announced Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan this evening.
The embassy team and the head of the mission departed today for Damascus, and the embassy will begin operations tomorrow, Fidan said in an interview broadcast live on the Turkish private channel NTV.
Turkey’s embassy in Damascus was closed on March 26, 2012, a year after the start of the civil war in Syria, due to deteriorating security conditions and calls from the Turkish government for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Turkey Calls for Reconciliation Between Syrian Government and Opposition to End the Conflict
Fidan stated that Turkey had persuaded Russia and Iran not to intervene in Syria during the rebel offensive that led to the fall of Assad’s government.
Following an 11-day offensive, a rebel coalition led by the radical Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham captured Damascus on December 8, ending half a century of Assad family rule.
The ousted Syrian president, along with his family, went to Moscow, where he was granted asylum.
