Erdoğan holds talks with Sharaa after Syria ceasefire

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the phone after a ceasefire was reached between the Syrian army and Druze forces in the country's south.

According to a statement by the Communications Directorate, the two leaders have discussed the latest situation in Syria and the Israeli military intervention into the country in support to the Druze community.

Erdoğan told Sharaa that Israel's attacks are not acceptable and pose a threat to the region’s stability, reiterating Ankara’s continued support to the people of Syria. He also welcomed the ceasefire between Damascus’ administration and the Druze forces.

For his part, Sharaa thanked Erdoğan for Türkiye’s support to the protection of Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity, according to the statement.

During a phone call with South Korean leader Lee Jae-myung earlier in the day, Erdoğan has expressed his hope for further strengthening Türkiye-South Korea ties in various fields, including nuclear energy and artificial intelligence.

According to a statement by the Communications Directorate, Erdoğan spoke on the phone with the South Korean president on July 17 and congratulated him on his election as the head of the nation.

The top issues the two leaders discussed were the Türkiye-South Korea bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues.

Expressing his hope to take joint steps to further bolster the strategic partnership between Türkiye and South Korea in this new term, Erdoğan also underscored the potential for cooperation in several fields, including nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, green energy and the defense industry.

Erdoğan invited his counterpart to visit Türkiye. A liberal politician, Lee Jae-myung, was elected as the new president in snap polls in early June. He won 49.42 percent of nearly 35 million votes cast, while his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo had taken 41.15 percent, according to national election commission data.

Ties between Türkiye and South Korea were upgraded to the strategic partnership level in 2012 and have continued to develop steadily since then. Türkiye’s participation in the Korean War in 1949 created a special bond between the two nations.