ISTANBUL

Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın in Amman.

Representatives of Türkiye, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria have reaffirmed their countries’ support for the new Syrian government and agreed to establish an operations room to combat the ISIL terrorist group

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This came during a press conference following the meeting in Amman, which brought together foreign and defense ministers of the five countries as well as their intelligence chiefs and military leaders.

Following the meeting, the countries issued a joint statement and affirmed their support for the “brotherly Syrian people in their efforts to rebuild their homeland on foundations that ensure Syria’s security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity, while safeguarding the rights and safety of all its citizens.”

The regional countries condemned all attempts and groups aimed at undermining Syria’s security, sovereignty and peace.

From Türkiye, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın attended the summit.

Speaking at the joint press conference, Fidan said that the recent escalations in Syria have been an “effort to derail the Syrian’s government’s weeks-long policy of not reacting to provocations.”

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He stressed the importance of Alawites, Christians, Druze and Nusayris in Syria avoiding involvement in any provocations.

Fidan said they discussed issues related to Syria’s stability, including counterterrorism and regional terrorist activities, adding: “We are, of course, committed to fully supporting the newly formed government in Syria and backing all of its efforts to stabilize the country.”

He stressed that neither the regional countries nor Türkiye support any initiatives that would undermine Syria’s stability, stressing that they have consistently advocated for the protection of civilians’ lives, property and cultural rights.

 Joint center against ISIL 

The countries also agreed to launch a joint operation center and intelligence mechanism to fight the ISIL terrorist organization.

Fidan emphasized that ISIL is still active in multiple countries, highlighting the importance of regional states coming together to establish a platform.

As a starting point, he noted that the creation of a “joint operations center” would be the first concrete step.

The countries also affirmed they will hold a second round of meetings in Türkiye in the coming months to build on the March 9’s discussions and make the necessary decisions.

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In recent days, Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus have seen coordinated attacks by loyalists of the former Assad regime. These attacks, described as the most severe since the regime’s fall in December 2024, targeted security patrols, checkpoints and hospitals, resulting in deaths and injuries.