Al-Shaibani visits Ankara concurrently with Lavrov's visit to Turkey.

Reuters quoted informed diplomatic sources as saying that the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad al-Shaaban, will visit the Turkish capital Ankara today, Monday, 21/02/2025, for talks with Turkish officials, coinciding with the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Turkey for discussions on the situation in Syria and other issues.

It is expected that Lavrov and al-Shaaban will meet in Ankara during the visit, without any confirmation of the meeting. However, the Russian Foreign Minister had announced last Wednesday that Russia plans to hold high-level contacts with Syria in the near future, describing the results of the Russian delegation's visit to Syria as "positive."

The Russian Foreign Ministry also revealed in an official statement Moscow's efforts to develop relations with Syria, confirming that the issue of Russian military presence there is under discussion.

The Syrian presidency also stated in an official statement that President Ahmad al-Shar'a received a phone call from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on assuming the presidency during the transitional period.