European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to visit Türkiye for discussions on Syria, she announced on X on Tuesday evening after speaking with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the phone.
"We'll meet early next week in Türkiye to discuss what this development means for the region and beyond," she posted.
Von der Leyen emphasized the importance of maintaining Syria's territorial integrity and protecting minorities.
Erdoğan exchanged views on the situation in Syria during a phone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well.
Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said on Tuesday evening that "both agreed that the fall of the dictatorial Assad regime was a very positive development."
He added that now the goal must be to make Syria a safe home for all Syrians, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation.
Furthermore, the two leaders said it is important to maintain Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty, the spokesperson said, adding that they aim to work towards these goals together with partners in the European Union as well as the region.
Both the European Union and Türkiye hope for stability in Syria after the fall of leader Bashar Assad, with expectations that more Syrian refugees will return to their homeland voluntarily.
However, uncertainties persist as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations, led the overthrow of Assad.
The new EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned members of the European Parliament on Tuesday about potential risks of sectarian violence and a governance vacuum in Syria.
Kallas stressed the need to prevent a recurrence of the horrific scenarios seen in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.
She highlighted the fact that the situation in Syria reflects the weakened state of Assad's long-time allies in Russia and Iran, who are preoccupied with other conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
For Putin and the Iranian regime, the fall of Assad is a heavy blow, said Kallas, who is a former prime minister of Estonia. She underscored the importance of regional and international cooperation to support Syria.
Türkiye has taken in the most refugees from Syria globally, with about 3 million currently living in the country, according to U.N. figures. In Germany, there are currently about 975,000 Syrian refugees.
Türkiye is among the countries most influenced by Syria’s civil war, especially due to the emergence of the YPG in northeastern Syria, a lethal threat to the country.
The stance of Türkiye, which has been highly critical of the Assad regime’s oppression of its own people, adhered to the preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity and establishment of a political dialogue between the regime and the opposition Türkiye backed in the fight against terrorist groups in the north.
Ankara openly backed the Syrian opposition to the Assad regime since the unrest evolved into a civil war in the neighboring country more than a decade ago.
In recent months, however, it sought to normalize ties with Assad. Erdoğan repeatedly urged the ousted leader of the Damascus regime to reinvigorate ties and find a political solution to the conflict. Assad was initially receptive to Ankara's call before stalling the process. When anti-regime forces launched their lightning offensive in late November, Türkiye reiterated its call to Assad, to no avail.
