Syria navy delegation visits Turkey: What to know

A Syrian naval delegation toured a Turkish ship on Thursday as the two countries seek to bolster defense ties following a recent training agreement.

What happened: Syrian Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Saud met with the commander of the Turkish naval fleet, Adm. Kadir Yildiz, in Kocaeli province in northwest Turkey to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations. Saud toured the Turkish frigate TCG Kemalreis and was briefed on its capabilities, the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a post on X.

Saud and his delegation visited the Turkish navy’s command headquarters on Wednesday and held talks with Turkish commander Lt. Gen. Ergument Tatlioglu on naval coordination and cooperation, Syria’s official news outlet SANA reported.

The Syrian delegation arrived in Ankara on Tuesday upon invitation by Tatlioglu, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced at the time.

Why it matters: Turkey moved swiftly to formalize defense ties with Syria after the new government took power last December. For years, Ankara had backed Sunni fighters opposing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and following Assad’s ouster, it sought to strengthen ties with the new leadership. Turkey signed a defense deal and began training the new Syrian military in August. The agreement, which includes reciprocal visits, training, consultancy and technical assistance, came after months of negotiations between Damascus and Ankara.

The Syrian jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham spearheaded Assad’s ousting in December. Its wartime leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is now Syria’s president. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army fought alongside HTS during the civil war against Assad’s forces.

After Assad’s military collapsed in December, Sharaa announced plans to form a new national force and urged rebel groups to join. HTS formally dissolved in January and many factions have since integrated into the new military, though some groups, particularly in the south, remain independent.

Barin Kayaoglu wrote in Al-Monitor in August that Turkey’s effort to train the Syrian military, which could take years and cost billions of dollars, is primarily aimed at curbing the influence of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The SDF, which the US supports as part of the fight against the Islamic State, is considered by Turkey an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. In March, the SDF signed an integration deal with Damascus, though implementation remains incomplete.

Syria and Turkey have recently stepped up cooperation on security issues. Earlier this month, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Damascus, coinciding with talks between Israel and Syria over a border security deal.

Turkey has been assisting Syria in efforts to curb the booming Captagon trade. In early September, Syrian authorities said Turkish intelligence helped them seize a large haul of the pills along with drug-making equipment.

Know more: Sharaa met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly summit on Wednesday. Erdogan called for the remaining sanctions on Syria to be lifted during the sit-down, Turkey’s official Anadolu agency reported.

The United States and the European Union lifted most sanctions on Syria earlier this year, though some — including the US Caesar Act — remain in effect under temporary waivers.