Turkey’s involvement in recent Middle East events — including in Syria and Gaza — has manifested in a number of diplomatic meetings in recent weeks in the U.S. and in Turkey.
A three‑way meeting took place on Monday in Washington: Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al‑Shaibani and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, under instructions from U.S. President Donald Trump, met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to Syria’s Foreign Ministry, the purpose of the meeting was, among other things, to monitor the agreements already reached between Trump and Syrian President Ahmad al‑Sharaa and to establish clear implementation mechanisms. According to reports of the meeting, the three agreed to continue the deal for integrating the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces militia into the Syrian army, and the U.S. reaffirmed its support for reaching a security agreement with Israel in order to strengthen regional stability.
In addition, according to Syrian media, Turkey’s Fidan met Tuesday with Syria’s president himself. The meeting was also attended by Syria’s foreign minister.
Fidan was quoted during his U.S. visit as saying that he discussed with American officials Turkey’s vision for Syria, opportunities for cooperation between the states and ways to develop Syria, its unity, its stability and regional security. In a formal statement to the press, he said he conveyed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s greetings to Trump. He added that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance took part in the Washington meeting, as did envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack.
The Turkish minister said that he held a separate meeting with Witkoff and Barrack, in which the three discussed the Palestinian issue and the obstacles standing in the way of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. According to him, Erdoğan was updated on the outcomes of the meetings and praised Trump’s approach to the Syrian issue.
Meanwhile, it appears that Turkey’s regional engagements are expected to continue this week. Reuters reported that Fidan will meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, who is visiting Ankara. The two are expected to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and international efforts for the territory's reconstruction, even as Arab media debate questions surrounding the international force expected to be deployed in Gaza and Turkey’s role in it.
In the Turkish foreign minister’s most recent meeting on the subject, Abdelatty did not participate and Fidan spoke with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia. At its conclusion, he said the meeting dealt with “ways to achieve peace.” Nevertheless, he pointed a blaming finger at Israel, claiming that it "has killed more than 200 Palestinians" since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect last month.
Additionally, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al‑Akhbar reported Wednesday on “an Egyptian escalation toward Turkey.” The report claimed that Cairo rejects Turkey’s desire to join the international force, but offered Ankara instead a broader role in the Gaza reconstruction process. London‑based site Middle East Eye reported that Turkey “has finished” preparations for deploying forces in the enclave, even though the U.S. has not yet decided on the matter and Israel opposes it.
Despite extensive reporting on the makeup of the proposed international force and the countries expected to join, no clear list of participants has emerged. Arabic media have also reported that the UAE and Egypt will not take part despite earlier expectations that Cairo would play a key role.