Istanbul/ Laith al-Junaidi/ Anadolu

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani discussed on Wednesday with Yasser Abbas, advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, bilateral relations and ways to enhance coordination and consultation between the two countries.

This came during al-Shibani's reception of Yasser Abbas and his accompanying delegation in the capital Damascus, according to a statement published by the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry indicated that the two sides reviewed 'the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries.'

They also discussed 'the latest regional developments, and enhancing coordination and consultation in the service of common Arab causes.'

The visit comes within the framework of ongoing political contacts between the two sides, after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a visit to Damascus on April 18, 2025, his first since the change that occurred in Syria, and the second visit by a head of state since the new Syrian government assumed its duties.

The security and political challenges facing Syria and Palestine intersect amid the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, in addition to Israel's continued violations on Syrian territory since the fall of the Assad regime, which makes regional developments one of the most prominent files of coordination between the two sides.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian revolutionary factions managed to enter the capital Damascus, announcing the overthrow of the regime of Bashar al-Assad (2000–2024), who inherited power from his father Hafez al-Assad (1971–2000).