Turkey’s embassy in Damascus resumed operations on December 14, as announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and reported by Annahar.

Turkish state agency Anadolu reported that Ankara had appointed Burhan Koroglu, its ambassador to Nouakchott, as the temporary charge d’affaires in Damascus.

The announcement follows recent events where Syrian opposition forces declared the fall of Assad, who fled the country. Opposition forces entered Damascus after rapid victories starting on November 27.

In an interview with Turkey’s NTV, Fidan discussed recent developments in Syria and reflected on the collapse of  Assad’s rule, highlighting Turkey’s role in minimising bloodshed by engaging in targeted negotiations with key players, Russia and Iran.

Fidan stated that as stability returns to Syria, the number of Syrian refugees returning from Turkey will gradually increase.

He explained that Turkey worked to achieve its goals with minimal loss of life by maintaining focused negotiations with influential powers capable of using force.

Fidan remarked that if Assad had retained full support from Russia and Iran, the opposition’s victory would have taken longer and been more violent. However, both Russia and Iran eventually concluded that continued investment in Assad was no longer viable, given changing regional and global conditions.

Fidan declared that Turkey would wait for appropriate conditions before reopening its embassy in Syria, marking a significant shift in relations after Turkey had severed ties with Syria in 2011 following the outbreak of anti-government protests and its subsequent support for armed opposition groups against Assad’s regime.