US-Syria thaw advances as Rubio meets Shaibani in Turkey: What to know
Top US, Syrian and Turkish diplomats discussed counterterrorism cooperation and regional stability in a landmark Turkey meeting.
ANKARA — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday in the first meeting for American and Syrian top diplomats in nearly 15 years.
What happened: The meeting between the three delegations lasted roughly two hours. US Sen. Lindsey Graham; Tom Barrack, the new US ambassador to Ankara who presented his credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday; Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Levent Gumrukcu; and other officials from the three countries also joined the talks, TV footage showed.
The Rubio-Shaibani sit-down followed the landmark meeting between US President Donald Trump and Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Rubio, Shaibani and Fidan reviewed the details of the Riyadh meeting, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Al-Monitor on condition of customary anonymity. Rubio affirmed the United States’ support for sanctions relief to stabilize Syria.
