ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Foreign Ministers of Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey held a meeting on Sunday in Amman. The four sides discussed strengthening security cooperation and the stability of Syria.

Turkey’s Hakan Fidan, Iraq’s Fuad Hussein, and Syria’s Asaad al-Shaibani were received on Sunday by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in a joint meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman.

In a joint press conference after the meeting, Iraqi FM Hussein stressed that “opening dialogue with the various components” in Syria is a necessity for stability in the country. 

Hussein went on to underline the presence of the Islamic State (ISIS) as a danger to Iraq and the region’s security while emphasizing the importance of the exchange of information between Syria’s neighbors to fight ISIS.

Fidan, for Turkey’s part, reiterated his country’s determination to “assist the newly established government in Syria in all aspects and to support all stabilizing activities,” underlining that Turkey, along with the other countries in the region do not support “any initiative that destabilizes Syria.” 

Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister, meanwhile, highlighted his country’s readiness to continue working together for a “better future for the region,” adding that they will not allow any party to take the role of the state and anyone caught violating that will “be referred to the judiciary.”

Syria went through an era-defining shift in its political landscape late last year, where a rebel offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) brought the five-decade-long rule of the Assad family to an end, toppling Bashar al-Assad and taking control of capital Damascus.

The ouster of Assad led to the dissolution of the former government, which was followed by the formation of a transitional government later that saw the appointment of HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa as president in late January. The country has been in a rebuilding phase ever since.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi stressed the need to “support Syria in rebuilding,” in the joint presser, while adding that the neighboring countries demand the lifting of Syria’s sanctions.

The recent violent escalations along the Syrian coastal region between Assad loyalists and Syrian security forces comprised another subject for discussion in the meeting. 

“We see that the policy that the Syrian government has been pursuing for weeks without any provocation, has been tried to be derailed by a provocation in recent days,” Fidan said in the press conference, addressing the recent clashes in Syria.

Loyalists to the Assad regime on Thursday ambushed and attacked Syrian security forces, reportedly killing 16 members of the forces, prompting a violent response from the security forces.

Members of the Syrian defense ministry and internal security forces have carried out “public executions” in several parts of the country since Thursday, killing at least 830 civilians accused of siding with the insurgents, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The incidence induced responses from many regional and international entities with Iraq, Iran, and Germany condemning the killing of civilians by the security forces in the altercations.

Shaibani said that they “protect all components of the Syrian people and do not discriminate between them and will not allow the repetition of the tragedies of the Syrian people,” calling the new Syrian government the “guarantor of peace,” in the midst of the ongoing violent confrontations in the country.

The US also condemned the actions of the security forces on Sunday, predominantly made up of previous HTS members. 

“The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days.  The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities,” the Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press statement on Sunday, calling on the interim government to hold those guilty accountable.