Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, announced that Turkey will reopen its Embassy in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, marking its first reopening since 2012. In an interview with Turkey's NTV, Fidan shared that an interim charge d'affaires, along with a delegation, had already departed for Damascus on Friday. "It will be operational as of tomorrow," he said.

The Embassy in Damascus stopped operating in 2012 due to worsening security during the Syrian civil war, and all staff and their families were moved to Turkey. Earlier on Friday, thousands of Syrians attended Friday prayers at Damascus' historic main mosque for the first time since President Bashar Assad was removed. Meanwhile, large crowds gathered in the capital's biggest square and across the country to celebrate. The events marked a significant symbolic moment in Syria's rapid power shift, over a week after rebels overran Damascus and overthrew the Assad-led government that had held sway over the nation for fifty years. It occurred as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an inclusive and non-sectarian interim government during a meeting with allies in the area to help shape the transition.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq after holding discussions in Jordan and Turkey, which supports some Syrian insurgent groups. So far, U.S. officials have not mentioned any direct meetings with Syria's new leadership. The main insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been working to restore order and initiate a political transition after capturing Damascus on Sunday. The group is trying to calm public concerns, as people are both shocked by Assad's fall and worried about extremist elements among the rebels. HTS leaders claim they have distanced themselves from their extremist past, though the group is still classified as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and European nations.

The leader of HTS, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, congratulated the great Syrian people on the success of the wonderful revolution in a video greeting released on Friday. "I invite them to come to the squares and express their joy without shooting and frightening people," he stated. After that, we'll endeavour to develop this nation, and as I spoke at the outset, God will help us win. Large crowds, including some insurgents, gathered at the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus' old city. Many waved the rebel opposition flag with three red stars, which has quickly replaced the Assad-era flag with its two green stars.

Arab TV channels reported that Mohammed al-Bashir, the interim prime minister appointed by HTS this week, delivered the Friday sermon. This moment carried deep significance. The mosque, one of the oldest in the world with a history of 1,200 years, is a cherished symbol of Syria. Under Assad’s rule, sermons in this mosque, like all others in Syria, were strictly controlled. Additionally, in the early days of the 2011 uprising, protesters often left Friday prayers to join rallies against Assad. His harsh crackdown on those protests eventually turned the uprising into a prolonged and bloody civil war. Al-Bashir, who served as the interim prime minister, had led an administration set up by HTS in Idlib, the opposition-controlled area in northwest Syria. For years, the rebels had been confined to Idlib until their fighters launched a surprise offensive, advancing across Syria in just 10 days.

HTS leader, al-Sharaa, has pledged to establish a pluralistic government in Syria, aiming to ease concerns, particularly among the country’s minority groups, about the possibility of strict extremist rule under the insurgents. Another major challenge will be gaining international recognition for the new government in Syria, a nation heavily influenced by various foreign powers. Sunni Arab insurgents, with significant support from Turkey, a long-time adversary of the US-backed Kurds, succeeded in overthrowing Assad. Turkey now controls a strip of land along its border with Syria and supports an insurgent group that has a tense alliance with HTS while opposing any advances by Syria's Kurds. The US, meanwhile, has troops in eastern Syria to fight the remaining Islamic State forces and supports Kurdish-led fighters who govern much of the region. Since Assad’s fall, Israel has conducted airstrikes across Syria to prevent weapons from reaching extremists. Additionally, Israel has taken control of a portion of southern Syria near the Golan Heights, claiming it as a buffer zone.

After meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Blinken stated that both Turkey and the US largely agree on their vision for Syria. This includes the formation of an interim government that is inclusive, non-sectarian, respects the rights of minorities and women, and does not threaten neighbouring countries. Fidan emphasised the need to quickly bring stability to Syria, stop terrorism from spreading, and ensure groups like IS and the PKK do not gain power. Turkey considers the PKK and US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria as terrorist groups.