Syria's al-Sharaa to hold talks with Turkey's Erdoğan on Tuesday

Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Tuesday on his second official trip abroad since taking power, the Turkish communications directorate announced.

The meeting is be held on Tuesday afternoon, the presidential palace in Ankara said.

Sources in the Syrian transitional government confirmed that al-Sharaa was planning a visit to Turkey following his trip to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Turkey is working rapidly to establish relations with Syria, as are Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Turkey aims to help with economic reconstruction after more than a decade of civil war and with supporting the Syrian military.

The ousting in early December of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad by an Islamist-led alliance has considerably boosted Turkish influence in the region. Al-Assad had been supported by Russia and Iran.

Turkish-backed militias are continuing to battle Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria near the border between the two countries. Ankara sees the Kurdish forces as "terrorist organizations" in league with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is demanding their dissolution.