Turkey’s intel chief Kalin makes surprise visit to Syria, meets Sharaa
Kalin's visit comes as a Turkish delegation arrives in Washington to discuss sanctions relief on Syria with the Trump administration.
ANKARA — Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, traveled to Damascus on Tuesday as Ankara ramps up its diplomacy with Syria.
Kalin met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Director of Syria's General Intelligence Service Hussein al-Salama, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency reported, citing security sources. His visit was not previously announced by Ankara.
Kalin and Syrian officials discussed a range of issues, including the Trump administration's decision to lift sanctions on Syria, combating the Islamic State (ISIS), and the transfer of control over camps holding ISIS members to the central administration, according to Anadolu. During his May 14 meeting with Sharaa in Riyadh, US President Donald Trump urged the Syrian leader to assume responsibility for the camps housing ISIS militants in northeast Syria.
MİT Başkanı Kalın, Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Şara ve heyetiyle Suriye'de bir araya geldi.
— TRT HABER (@trthaber) May 20, 2025
Görüşmede, terör örgütü PKK/YPG'nin silah bırakarak yeni Suriye'ye entegre olması, sınır güvenliği ve İsrail'in Suriye'ye saldırıları ele alındı.https://t.co/cayFqjOYRc pic.twitter.com/UixOHzYEca
Background: The camps, which host more than 15,000 ISIS detainees and their family members, are currently overseen by the Pentagon-allied Syrian Democratic Forces. The Trump administration is weighing a partial withdrawal of roughly 2,000 US troops from Syria. Ankara, which deems the SDF a national security threat, fearing that the group’s push to maintain autonomy in northeastern Syria could fuel separatist Kurdish ambitions, has long been pushing for the handover of ISIS camps to the new Syrian government.
Kalin and Syrian officials also discussed the disarmament and integration of the SDF into the central Syrian armed forces, Anadolu said.
Why it matters: Kalin’s visit to Damascus comes as Ankara speeds up its Syria diplomacy following Trump’s surprise announcement on May 13 to lift sanctions on Syria on the sidelines of his visit to Saudi Arabia.
A Turkish delegation led by Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz arrived in Washington on Tuesday to hold interagency talks led by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Know more: Turkey, which once backed rebel forces fighting the Syrian regime that fell in December, has emerged as the closest backer of the Sharaa government. It has been pushing for sanctions relief for the war-ravaged country as part of its broader effort to consolidate Sharaa's grip on power.
Trump cited requests from both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while announcing his decision on Tuesday to lift the sanctions.
