Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met with his chief backer, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara on Tuesday, his second overseas trip since overthrowing his country’s long-time dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in a lightning-fast offensive last month. 

In a rare gesture, Turkey flew Sharaa and his wife, Latifa al-Droubi, to Ankara on the Turkish presidential jet. Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria’s Turkish-educated top diplomat, was on board. 

In a joint news conference following the three-hour meeting, Erdogan praised the Syrian people for their valor and endurance during 13 years of conflict and called Sharaa’s visit “historic.” It was, he said, the start of “an era of permanent friendship and cooperation” between the two countries. Sharaa, in turn, said that the Syrian people would never forget Turkey’s support. More than 3.7 Syrians have found refuge in Turkey since the start of the civil conflict in 2011. 

Erdogan said the pair had “discussed, in particular, the steps that are to be taken against the separatist terror group and its allies who occupy northeast Syria.” Erdogan was referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its Syrian arm, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.