Syria’s new interim leader, meeting on Tuesday with the president of Turkey, thanked him for backing the rebel forces that toppled the Assad dictatorship and said he now sought

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa invited Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to visit Syria soon in a joint press conference in Ankara on Tuesday, as relations between the two countries thaw under the new Syrian administration.

The senior regional intelligence official, the Syrian security official and one of the Damascus-based foreign security sources said the bases under discussion would allow Turkey to defend Syria's air space in case of any future attacks.

Syria's new interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, where they discussed improved security ties and how to respond to Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria. Sharra flew into Turkey from Saudi Arabia where he sought Riyadh's funding to rebuild Syria after a devastating 13-year civil war.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and Syria's newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had discussed in Ankara on Tuesday steps to be taken against Kurdish militants in northeast Syria.

Their meeting was the first since the former rebel leader led the offensive that last month toppled Syria’s former autocratic ruler, Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa visits Ankara on Tuesday for talks with Turkey's leaders on rebuilding his land and the volatile issue of Kurdish fighters near the countries' border.