Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with senior US officials in Washington and briefly joined a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a move revealing Ankara’s expanding role in post-war Syrian diplomacy following the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year.
Fidan’s surprise visit to the US capital was announced by Turkey’s foreign ministry in a brief statement on Sunday that provided no details as to the agenda or participants, prompting speculation in Ankara about the timing and scope of the trip.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at the Turkish Embassy, Fidan said he had talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, US Ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack and several other senior officials. US Vice President J.D. Vance later joined the discussions.
The Turkish foreign minister said his visit coincided with al-Sharaa’s trip to Washington, during which he was invited to attend part of the Oval Office meeting between Trump and the Syrian leader.
“I conveyed President Erdoğan’s greetings and best wishes to President Trump,” Fidan told reporters.
Al-Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Assad in December, paid his first visit to the White House on Monday, the first by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946.
Fidan said the talks focused on cooperation between Ankara and Washington on Syria’s reconstruction, unity and security, as well as broader regional issues.
Bakanımız @HakanFidan, Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara ile Vaşington’da biraraya geldi. pic.twitter.com/hB14BFOqP8
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) November 11, 2025
He added that discussions also centered on how “problem areas in southern and northern Syria can be better managed” and on possible steps regarding the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, US legislation that sanctions the former Syrian government for war crimes against its population.
“We had the opportunity to look into these issues in detail and to present our views and positions,” he said.
Fidan noted that current talks are increasingly focused on what can be done to permanently lift the Caesar Act sanctions to help revive Syria’s shattered economy.
He later had separate meetings with Witkoff and Barrack, during which the parties discussed the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire, which was declared in October, the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran’s nuclear program.
Fidan said Erdoğan’s views on ending the war in Ukraine were shared in detail with US officials, describing Trump’s approach to the Syria issue as “quite constructive” and positively received in Ankara.
Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington followed his landmark appearance at the United Nations in September, when he became the first Syrian president in decades to address the UN General Assembly. Last week the US led a Security Council vote to lift UN sanctions against him.
Formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was removed from the US list of terrorist organizations in July. Since taking power in January, Syria’s new leadership has sought to distance itself from its militant past and project a more moderate image acceptable to Syrians and foreign powers alike.
Turkey has emerged as one of the new Syrian government’s leading partners, with al-Sharaa visiting Ankara several times this year and both sides signaling readiness to cooperate on reconstruction and border security.