Turkish intel chief Kalin arrives in Damascus, visits Umayyad Mosque
Turkish National Intelligence Chief, Ibrahim Kalin, has arrived in Damascus, Syria. The move comes four days after the Bashar al-Assad regime collapsed and Damascus was liberated by Syrian opposition forces on Dec. 8.
Kalin was spotted after praying at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Thursday.
Questions remain regarding the future of Syria following the opposition’s swift capture of the country’s three largest cities: Damascus, Aleppo and Homs.
On Tuesday, the newly established Syrian Interim Government with leader Mohammed al-Bashir announced that it will stay in power until March 2025 to stabilize the country.
The Turkish government appears keen on extending the knowledge transfer and model applied to the formerly Turkish-protected safe zones before the collapse of the Assad regime.
Ankara hopes to ensure that the territorial integrity of Syria is kept and that a governance structure encapsulating the diversity of Syria takes shape.
While the country remains divided, with the YPG/PKK terrorist group still holding onto northeastern Syria, how the rest of the Syrian situation unfolds remains to be seen.
