ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged the international community to ensure a “smooth transition” in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s  regime, noting they repeatedly tried to reach out to the toppled president over the past two months, but “no contact at all” in his final days.

“We have to work very hard… We have to work with the Syrian people, not only Turkey, but regional actors, the international actors, to make sure that there is a good and smooth transition period. No more harm to the civilian people” said Fidan during a presser on the sidelines of the Doha Forum on Sunday.

Anti-government groups spearheaded by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Sunday took over the Syrian capital city of Damascus, after nearly a two-week offensive, sending Assad fleeing and ending over two decades of his rule and half a century of the Baath party rule in the country.

“Damascus is free of the tyrant,” the opposition’s Command of Military Operations (CMO) said on Telegram.

Fidan said that Ankara had envisioned that “something was coming” for the past two months due to the deteriorating situation and dire living conditions of the Syrian people.

“Our president for the last couple of months has been trying to reach out to the Syrian regime, particularly to Mr. Assad, but it all failed. We knew that something was coming because as I said, we are very much familiar with the problems of Syria,” said Fidan, nonetheless stressing there was “no contact at all” with Assad or his government in the final days.

When asked about Assad’s whereabouts, Fidan said that he cannot comment on the matter, stating “I think he is somewhere, but I cannot comment on that... probably outside of Syria.”

The Turkish top diplomat said the collapse of Assad “did not happen overnight.”

“As of this morning, Syria has reached a stage where the Syrian people will shape the future of their own country. Today, there is hope,” Fidan said, adding “The Syrian people cannot achieve it alone. The international community must help the Syrian people.”

“Since 2016, through the Astana process, we de-escalated the situation and froze the war. This precious time should have been used by the regime to reconcile with its people. However, the regime did not use the opportunity,” Fidan said. "President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan himself extended his hand to the regime to open a way to achieve national unity and peace in Syria. That was also denied."

Ahmed al-Shar'a, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, leader of the HTS, which led the major military campaign against the Damascus government that started on November 27, ordered their forces not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until an official handover. 

The Turkish foreign minister said all the components and groups must be involved in the post-Assad governance.

“The new administration must be established in an orderly manner. The principle of inclusiveness must never be compromised. There must never be a desire for revenge. It is time to reunite and reconstruct the country,” Fidan said.

He went on to detail: “Today, we call on all actors in and outside the region to act with [prudence] and calm and to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the region. The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria must be preserved.

Due to the 13-year-long turmoil at home, Syrian refugees have sought asylum across the world, with 73 percent hosted by neighboring countries. Turkey hosts the largest population of Syrian refugees, with more than 3.3 million refugees.