Turkey has emerged as one of the most influential power brokers in Syria after rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad last month, ending his family's brutal five-decade rule.

More than 50,000 Syrian refugees have left Turkey to return home since Bashar al-Assad's ouster. "Now he's gone, many are willing to return but the Syria they left is not the same place," he told AFP.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday after talks in Baghdad that a joint battle using "all our resources" must be carried out to eliminate both Islamic State and Kurdish militants in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for combined regional efforts to combat outlawed Kurdish fighters in Iraq and neighbouring Syria during a visit to Baghdad on Sunday. The […]

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged for a unified effort to combat Islamic State and Kurdish militants after his Baghdad talks. Turkey, branding the YPG and PKK as terrorists, seeks regional support and new cooperation strategies.

Assad, Turkey has become a vital power broker in Syria, with significant diplomatic, economic, and military influence. The country aims to leverage this to strengthen trade, cooperation, and address national security concerns related to Kurdish groups along its border.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for an inclusive transition in Syria after the fall of leader Bashar al-Assad, in a call with powerbroker Turkey, the State Department said Thursday.

Turkey and Syria have agreed to reevaluate customs tariffs for certain products and they discussed economic and trade relations during meetings in Damascus, the Turkish trade ministry said on Friday.

Ankara eyes lower customs duties and the reactivation of a free trade deal, though there are Syrian concerns it will cost Damascus economic autonomy

No country has as much to gain from a stable Syria as Turkey, and few have as much to lose if it implodes. Turkey is home to more than 3m Syrian refugees, and wants Syria to be safe enough for many to return.

As it became increasingly clear that Syrians were not imminently leaving Turkey, the Turkish government formalized the Temporary Protection Regulation in 2014. It allowed Syrian nationals access to the Turkish education and health care systems and laid the groundwork for them to pursue employment if they could secure work permits.

The December collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria was stunning. Not only did it mark the end of the Assad family’s dictatorial reign that had been in place since 1971, it also signaled the potential end of a long and brutal civil war that has killed as many as 600,000 people.