Le président français Emmanuel Macron, le 6 février 2025 à L'Elysée. LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the Europeans' "roadmap" for lifting sanctions against Syria during a phone conversation with Emmanuel Macron on Friday, according to the Turkish presidency.
The exchange between the two leaders, their second since Dec. 18, took place forty-eight hours after the French president’s call to Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Erdogan deemed "the suspension of European Union sanctions against Syria extremely appropriate and stressed the importance of lifting them completely," stating that "Turkey will continue to support Syria," according to the Turkish presidency’s statement.
He also emphasized that "intensifying dialogue between the two countries will positively contribute" to relations between Ankara and Paris, adding that both nations "have the potential for cooperation in many areas, particularly in the defense industry," a sector in which Turkey has made significant advances in recent years.
On Wednesday, Macron called Syria’s new interim leader the day after his official visit to Ankara to congratulate him on his appointment and invite him to France.
This call, described by the Élysée as the first from a Western leader, comes a week before the international ministerial conference on Syria, scheduled for Feb. 13 in Paris.
Macron highlighted France’s efforts to lift sanctions against Syria.
At the end of January, the European Union agreed on a "roadmap" to ease sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which the new leadership is demanding be lifted to begin the country’s recovery.
