Two weeks after seizing power in a sweeping offensive, Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday said weapons in the country, including those held by Kurdish-led forces, would come under state control.

Turkey will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about U.S.-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday said Syria's future is "hanging by a thread" as she called on Turkey to help stabilize the country during a visit to Ankara. "Syria must neither become a pawn of foreign powers nor an experiment by radical forces,

Despite the rhetoric about a global war against Islamist terrorism, the US has long utilised reactionary Islamist groups in the Middle East and Asia. Al-Qaeda was created by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence,

Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's new leader in Damascus on Sunday, Ankara's foreign ministry said.

Ankara's growing military presence in Syria has led to a diplomatic clash between former allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported Hamas, even hinting at some sort of armed intervention.

Kurdish militias in Syria must disarm and join Syria's new government security forces, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday, after talks with her Turkish counterpart in Ankara.

Turkey on Wednesday rejected US President-elect Donald Trump's claim that the rebel ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad was an "unfriendly takeover" by Ankara."Turkey did an unfriendly takeover,

Russia and Turkey backed opposing sides in Syria’s civil war that started in 2011, putting them on a collision course. Tensions spiraled when a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkey-Syria border in November 2015, soon after Moscow launched its air campaign to support Assad.

The war in Syria has left a trail of destruction. The country is devastated, fragmented, and economically ruined. Millions of people are displaced, or dependent on humanitarian aid. DW presents an illustrated overview.

Turkey's long-time relationship with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels had drawn little attention until recently -- but since the Islamists took over Syria, both sides have sought to profit from the ties, analysts say.