ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reaffirmed Ankara’s support for the new administration in Damascus, including in the fight against “terror”, during a joint presser with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Sharaa arrived in Ankara on Tuesday alongside a top delegation which included Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. The visit to Turkey marks Sharaa’s second trip outside of Syria since assuming the presidency - he first visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

During a joint press conference following their meeting, Erdogan described Sharaa’s visit as “historic” and “the beginning of a lasting friendship and cooperation” between Ankara and Damascus.

"The Syrian people now have the necessary will to determine their own future. Just as Turkey did not leave our Syrian brothers alone during their most hopeless and difficult days, we will provide them with the necessary support in the new period,” said the Turkish president.

Erdogan stressed that Ankara stands ready to provide support to Damascus in the war against “terror”, whether that is the Islamic State (ISIS), or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its alleged affiliated groups in northeastern Syria.

“We discussed the steps to be taken against the separatist terrorist organization and its supporters occupying northeastern Syria. I expressed to him that we are ready to provide the necessary support to Syria in the fight against all forms of terror, be it ISIS or the PKK.”

The semi-autonomous Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria is protected by local police, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), which later became part of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US.

Clashes have been ongoing between the SDF and Turkey and its affiliated rebel groups in SDF-held areas since late November.

Turkey considers the YPG, which is the backbone of the SDF, as inextricably linked to the PKK, however, the YPG insists that they merely subscribe to similar ideology.

The PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Sharaa thanked Erdogan and Turkey for their support of the people of Syria over the past years, expressing the new administration’s desire to establish “deep strategic partnerships” with Ankara across various fields.

The Syrian interim president said that they are working with Ankara on a joint strategy to combat the security concerns in the region, and added that he and Erdogan also discussed “the threats that prevent the completion of the unity of the Syrian territories in northeastern Syria.”

During a conference declaring the victory of the Syrian revolution, the new Damascus administration announced that all armed factions will be dissolved and integrated into the state institutions.

The dissolution of the armed factions would also apply to the SDF, which currently control the bulk of northeastern and eastern regions of Syria, amounting to a quarter territory of the country

Syrian Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra told reporters in January that the door for negotiations with the SDF is “currently open,” but stressed “if we have to use force, we will be ready.”

Formed in 2015, the SDF is considered the Kurdish de facto army in Syria.