Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has stated that Damascus has no intention of establishing a Turkish military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes earlier this week. In an interview with US outlet Axios, he confirmed that Turkish military officials had visited the site as part of training and broader cooperation but denied any plans for a permanent Turkish base.
“There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site,” al-Shaibani said, adding that he had communicated this clearly to Israel.
On Tuesday, Israel conducted eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo, marking its first attack on Syrian government assets since March. No casualties were reported, but the attack drew international condemnation.
Al-Shaibani asserted that Israel had no legitimate justification for the strike. He emphasized that while Syria remains open to de-escalation talks with Israel, any future agreement must address the security concerns of both nations, warning that Israeli military operations would increase regional instability.
The strikes come amid heightened tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria, where both militaries are active. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel had warned Syria against allowing a Turkish presence at the base, saying, “Our message was very clear. Don’t. I guess they didn’t quite understand the message.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria.”
Turkey has rejected what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria. The Turkish defense ministry stated that no military delegation was at the airbase before or during the strikes and called on the international community to take concrete measures against Israel’s actions, which it said threaten regional peace and stability.
Source: www.aljazeera.com