The Justice Ministry approved a request by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) to meet Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving life in solitary confinement, a DEM spokesperson said late on Friday.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed the move in remarks to the TGRT news channel.

“We responded positively to DEM’s request for a meeting. Depending on the weather conditions, they will go to Imrali tomorrow [Saturday] or Sunday,” he said, referring to the prison island where Ocalan has been held for 25 years.

Friday’s decision came after DEM requested the visit last month, soon after a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expanded on a proposal to end the 40-year-old conflict between the state and Ocalan’s outlawed PKK.

Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, made the call a month after suggesting that Ocalan announce an end to the rebellion in exchange for the possibility of his release.

Erdogan described Bahceli’s initial proposal as a “historic window of opportunity”. After the latest call last month, Erdogan said he was in complete agreement with Bahceli on every issue and that they were acting in harmony and coordination.

“To be frank, the picture before us does not allow us to be very hopeful,” Erdogan said in parliament. “Despite all these difficulties, we are considering what can be done with a long-range perspective that focuses not only on today but also on the future.”

Bahceli regularly condemns pro-Kurdish politicians as tools of the PKK, which they deny.

Regional changesDEM’s predecessor party was involved in peace talks between Ankara and Ocalan a decade ago, last meeting him in April 2015.

The peace process and a ceasefire collapsed soon after, unleashing the most deadly phase of the conflict.

DEM MPs Sirri Sureyya Onder and Pervin Buldan, who both met Ocalan as part of peace talks at the time, will travel to Imrali island to meet him this weekend, the party said.

Turkiye and its Western allies designate the PKK as a “terrorist group”. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which in the past was focused in the mainly Kurdish southeast but is now centred on northern Iraq, where the PKK is based.

Growing regional instability and changing political dynamics are seen as factors behind the bid to end the conflict with the PKK. The chances of success are unclear as Ankara has given no clues on what it may entail.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria this month, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it sees as an extension of the PKK, must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria’s future.

The YPG is the main component of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).SDF commander Mazloum Abdi (also known as Mazloum Kobani) acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time last week, saying they had helped fight ISIL (ISIS) fighters and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed upon with Turkiye, a core demand from Ankara.

Authorities in Turkiye have continued to crack down on alleged PKK activities. Last month, the government replaced five pro-Kurdish mayors in southeastern cities for suspected PKK ties, in a move that drew criticism from DEM and others.

In their meeting in Damascus on Sunday, Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed the need for unity and stability in Syria, as they called for the lifting of all international sanctions against the war-ravaged country.

Photographs and footage shared by the Turkish ministry showed Fidan and al-Sharaa hug and shake hands, their meeting coming two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Fidan would be going to Damascus to discuss the new structure in Syria.

Addressing the news conference with al-Sharaa, Fidan said Turkiye “will continue to stand by your side … Hopefully the darkest days of Syria are behind [and] better days await us.”

Fidan said sanctions on Damascus must be lifted “as soon as possible” and the international community “needs to mobilise to help Syria get back on its feet and for the displaced people to return”.

Al-Sharaa who was holding his first public news conference since leading the operation to topple al-Assad and assume power two weeks ago, also called on the international community to lift all sanctions against Syria.

“All the economic sanctions must be lifted, now the predator has gone and only the victims remain. The factors of injustice and oppression have gone. Now the time is opportune for these sanctions to be lifted,” said the head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

“This regime has been ruling for more than 50 years, and some of these sanctions were handed down in the 1970s. That’s why the action must be swift, these sanctions must be lifted quickly in order for us to take our country forward.

”The two officials discussed the necessity of drafting a new Syrian constitution that protects the country’s minorities. The issue of Syrian refugees, Israel’s “violations” of Syrian sovereignty, and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) issue were also on the agenda.

The opposition’s taking over of power in Syria came after 13 years of brutal war, which started as a largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in 2011 but eventually turned into an all-out war that dragged in foreign powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and turned millions into refugees.

Fidan’s visit to Damascus came amid fighting in northeast Syria between Turkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG group, which Ankara regards as a terrorist organisation. Turkiye had for years backed rebels seeking to remove al-Assad, while also hosting millions of Syrian refugees it hopes will start returning home.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Sardar, reporting from Damascus, said Turkiye has offered help to the new Syrian administration, “emphasizing the importance of keeping the state institutions up and running”.

“Turkiye has been one of the main backers of the Syrian opposition since the uprising started in 2011. So now Fidan was in Damascus, and he simply emphasized the importance of preserving the state apparatuses,” he said.

Al-Sharaa on Sunday also hosted Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt as several governments and Syrians alike express concerns over the protection of minorities under the new Syrian government, including the Kurds, Christians, Alawites, and the Druze who are an Arab minority practising an offshoot of Islam.

“We take pride in our culture, our religion and our Islam. Being part of the Islamic environment does not mean the exclusion of other sects. On the contrary, it is our duty to protect them,” al-Sharaa said during his meeting with Jumblatt, in comments broadcast by Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed.

Jumblatt is the first Lebanese figure to visit Syria and meet the leaders of its new government.

Jamplatt, a veteran politician and prominent Druze leader, said al-Assad’s removal should be the beginning of a new era of relations between Lebanon and Syria. A longtime critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon, he blamed al-Assad’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad, for the assassination of his father decades ago.

“We salute the Syrian people for their great victories and we salute you for your battle that you waged to get rid of oppression and tyranny that lasted more than 50 years,” Jumblatt told al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa, until recently known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said he would send a government delegation to the southwestern Druze city of Sweida in Syria, pledging to provide services to its community in order to honour the country’s “rich diversity of sects”.

“Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon,” he said.

Al-Sharaa has given his assurances that all religious and ethnic minorities will be “fairly represented” in Syria.

“Whether the new administration is going to be tolerant enough against the minorities, whether the minorities are going to be represented fairly in a new Syria or not – that question is being repeatedly asked to Ahmad al-Sharaa,” he said.

A senior Turkish defence official on Thursday rubbished claims made by US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller that a Washington-brokered ceasefire between Turkish-backed rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) around the Syrian city of Manbij had been extended until the end of this week.

The SDF is supported by Washington in its fight against ISIL, but Ankara views it as a “terrorist organisation”, alleging links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a four-decade armed rebellion on Turkish soil.

On Thursday, the Turkish official described Miller’s statement as “a slip of the tongue”, saying it was “out of the question” for Turkiye to talk to the SDF, a group spearheaded by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is seen an extension of the PKK.

 “Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” said the official.

Turkiye regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as “terrorist” groups. The US and Turkiye’s Western allies also list the PKK as “terrorist”, but not the YPG and the SDF.

Renewed fighting between Turkish-backed factions and Syrian Kurdish fighters comes more than a week after fighters led by opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Syria’s longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Reporting from Istanbul, Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said that Turkiye believed it was up to the new Syrian administration to remove “foreign fighters” – an allusion to PKK members of the YPG –  from its territory.

“Turkiye considers all those PKK ranks within the YPG as foreign fighters and the Turkish foreign minister said these foreign fighters … within the opposition factions should be out of Syria, especially as there is a new Syrian administration and a national army is expected to be established,” she said.

If the new administration was unable to remove foreign fighters from its territory, Turkiye could potentially intervene, she added.

The Turkish official’s comments came as concerns grew over a possible Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, some 50km (30 miles) northeast of Manbij.US President-elect Donald Trump described the toppling of al-Assad as an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkiye, which had aligned itself with several of the opposition groups that led the lightning offensive on Damascus.

On Wednesday, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rejected Trump’s comments, saying it would be “a grave mistake” to describe the current events in Syria as a takeover by Turkiye.

Speaking in a joint news conference in Ankara, Erdogan late on Wednesday thanked Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for their “historic reconciliation”.

Hailing the agreement, Erdogan said he hoped the deal would be “the first step towards a new beginning based on peace and cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia”, and would eventually ensure that Ethiopia – the most populous land-locked country in the world – gains sea access.

“I believe with the meeting we had today, especially with Ethiopia’s demands to access the sea, my brother Sheikh Mohamud will give the necessary support for accessing the sea,” the Turkish leader said.

“This joint declaration focuses on the future, not the past, and records the principles that these two friendly countries, which are very important to us, will build from now on,” Erdogan said later in a post on social media.

The two neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa have seen tensions escalate since Ethiopia struck a deal in January with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland to lease a stretch of its coastline for an Ethiopian port and military base in exchange for diplomatic recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa.

The move prompted a fierce diplomatic and military row with Somalia, which branded the deal a violation of its sovereignty, setting international alarm bells ringing over the risk of renewed conflict as the dispute drew in Ethiopia’s longstanding rival Egypt and Eritrea.

Over the years, Somaliland has built a stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles with insecurity amid deadly attacks by al-Shabab rebels.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy and Somali President Mohamud arrived in Ankara earlier on Wednesday for the talks, which were the latest following two earlier meetings that made little progress.

According to the text of the agreement released by Turkiye, the parties agreed “to leave behind differences of opinion and contentious issues, and resolutely move forward in cooperation towards common prosperity”.

Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago but is not recognised by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory.

Both have agreed to work together on commercial arrangements and bilateral agreements that would ensure Ethiopia’s “reliable, safe and sustainable access” to the sea “under the sovereign authority of the Federal Republic of Somalia”.

They will now initiate technical talks no later than the end of February, which are to be completed “within four months”, and continuing differences are to be dealt with ” through dialogue” and where necessary with the support of Turkiye.

Speaking alongside Erdogan, his remarks translated into Turkish, Ethiopia’s Abiy said: “We have addressed the misunderstandings that have occurred over the past year.”

“Ethiopia’s desire for secure access to the sea is a peaceful venture and will benefit our neighbours, it is a venture that must be seen in the spirit of cooperation, not suspicion,” he said.

The Somali leader, whose remarks were also translated, said the agreement had “put a halt to their differences” and that his nation was “ready to work with the Ethiopian leadership and the Ethiopian people”.

Turkiye has been mediating between the two countries since July, leading discussions aimed at resolving their differences.

Speaking at the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on Saturday, Lavrov said Russia, Iran and Turkiye expressed support for “dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition” in Syria.

The three countries have been involved since 2017 in the so-called Astana Format talks seeking a political settlement in Syria, and their top diplomats – Lavrov, Iran’s Abbas Araghchi and Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan met in a trilateral format on the sidelines of the Doha Forum.

“We called for [an] immediate end to hostile activities. We stated, all of us, that we want the [United Nations] Resolution 2254 to be fully implemented, and for this purpose, called for the dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition,” Lavrov said.

Resolution 2254 (PDF) outlines a commitment to the “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” of Syria and says the only solution to the years-long conflict will be through “an inclusive and Syrian-led political process”.

Asked whether Moscow – a key backer of al-Assad and the Syrian army – believes the Syrian president can hang on to power, Lavrov said he was “not in the business of guessing”.

“We agreed today with Iran and Turkiye to issue a strong call, which I described, and we will be doing some specific steps to make sure that this call is heeded,” he said.

Lavrov’s comments came as fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed group have made a lightning advance in Syria over days, taking control of key cities, including Aleppo and Hama.

Late on Friday, the rebels said they had reached the edge of Homs, a strategic city linking the capital Damascus to coastal parts of the country where al-Assad enjoys support from the Alawite community.

In a post on Telegram on Saturday afternoon, an opposition commander said the HTS-led group’s forces had begun “operations” inside Homs.

Opposition fighters have also made gains in Deraa and Sweida, in southwestern Syria near the border with Jordan, and taken control of some towns in the Damascus countryside.

At Saturday’s Doha Forum, Lavrov said Russia was “absolutely convinced of the inadmissibility to use terrorists like HTS to achieve geopolitical purposes”.

“We’re trying to do everything not to allow terrorists to prevail; even if they say they are no longer terrorists,” he said.

Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the Russian foreign minister “was trying to project an image of strength and being in control”.

“He was trying to downplay fears that al-Assad’s regime in Syria is on the imminent brink of collapse, instead talking about how he’s doing all he can to promote the sovereignty of Syria and to try to stabilise the situation,” he said.

Ramani said the opposition forces’ rapid advance appears to have caught Moscow off-guard.

“They have been watching and they have been spectators just like us to what’s unfolding in Syria, and they don’t really seem to have a very clear game plan to keep al-Assad in power.”