Khalidi, Maya Gebeily and Khalil Ashawi AMMAN/BEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria's transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are expected to discuss a joint defense pact in Ankara on Tuesday,

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

The meeting between the Turkish president and Syria's new leader will focus on Syria's post-conflict reconstruction, economic recovery and security issues.

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.

Sheikh's excitement at returning to his homeland from neighbouring Turkey after the fall of Bashar al-Assad has turned to bitter disappointment at the grim living conditions in Syria after some 13 years of war.