Turkey opened today, Monday, January 20, its consulate in the city of Aleppo, northern Syria, after a closure that lasted more than 12 years.

The Turkish Anadolu Agency reported that the opening took place in the presence of the Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Damascus, Burhan Köroğlu, and the Consul General in Aleppo, Hakan Cengiz.

During the ceremony held at the Turkish General Consulate in Aleppo, the Turkish flag was raised, signaling the resumption of diplomatic activities of the consulate after it was halted since 2012, due to Turkey’s stance on the former Syrian regime and the Syrian revolution at that time.

Turkey resumed its diplomatic relations with Damascus on December 14, when it reopened its embassy after closing it in March 2012.

On December 25, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the imminent opening of his country’s consulate in Aleppo.

At that time, he stated that the Syrian people saved their homeland from the “clutches of a network of massacres,” and the Syrians embarked on a path to determine their future, emphasizing that Turkey would support Syria in all fields.

The Turkish President added, “We look with pity at those who, despite seeing all this, cannot even congratulate the Syrian people with a dry word, and cannot share in the joy of the oppressed in the streets, feeling discomfort from the overthrow of al-Assad.”

According to Erdoğan, the Arab and Islamic world needs to take the lead in the reconstruction of Syria and serve as a role model for other countries.

The Turkish President considered that the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is managing the process very well and has received appreciation for the moderate and constructive messages he has provided.

On January 15, a high-level Syrian diplomatic delegation visited Turkey, and the delegation, which included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asaad al-Shibani, the Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra, and the Head of General Intelligence Anas Khattab, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the presidential complex in the Turkish capital, in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, and Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin.

This visit is the first of its kind for a Syrian delegation since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011 until the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.

It also comes after two previous Turkish visits following al-Assad’s flight from Damascus, the latest of which was Fidan’s visit to Damascus and his meeting with the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and his Syrian counterpart on December 22, 2024.