Turkey to reopen embassy in Syria as diplomats gather for talks

Damascus: Turkey was set to reopen its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, nearly a week after president Bashar al Assad was toppled by forces backed by...

Damascus: Turkey was set to reopen its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, nearly a week after president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by forces backed by Ankara, and 12 years after the diplomatic outpost was shuttered early in Syria's civil war.

The move came as Middle Eastern and Western diplomats gathered in Jordan for high-level talks on Syria, and a day after nationwide celebrations at Assad's ouster.

Ankara has been a major player in Syria's conflict, holding considerable sway in the northwest and financing armed groups there, and maintaining a working relationship with the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the offensive that brought down Assad.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the new charge d'affaires, Burhan Koroglu, left for Syria on Friday, with the embassy expected to be "operational" the following day.