US stresses 'new era of partnership' in ties with Türkiye following discussions on Syria

WASHINGTON

The US State Department highlighted a “new era of partnership” in Türkiye-US relations following a meeting Tuesday of the Türkiye-US Syria Working Group in Washington, DC.

The meeting brought together Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

According to a State Department readout, Landau “underscored the strong U.S.-Türkiye bilateral relationship as a new era of partnership, advancing cooperation between our two nations across a broad range of issues toward common goals of peace, trade and commerce.”

"The two sides discussed the importance of fulfilling President (Donald) Trump’s announcement of sanctions relief for Syria and recognized the need to maintain the territorial integrity of a stable, united Syria that is not a safe haven for terrorism," the statement added.

A joint statement issued after the Syria Working Group meeting said that Türkiye and the US are committed to increasing cooperation and coordination on stability and security in Syria as outlined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Last week, Trump announced at an investment forum in Riyadh that he would lift the “brutal and crippling” sanctions on Syria at the request of President Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A day later, Trump held a landmark meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia—the first between US and Syrian leaders in 25 years.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.