Turkey has said it does not seek a confrontation with Israel in Syria, but warned that continued Israeli strikes on military facilities in the war-torn country are undermining the new Syrian government’s ability to counter threats, including Islamic State, its foreign minister told Reuters on Friday.
Speaking during a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Hakan Fidan said Israel’s actions were fuelling regional instability by targeting Syria, a country led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is regarded as a close ally of Ankara.
“We don’t want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians,” Fidan said, stressing that the responsibility for the country’s security should rest solely with its people.
A NATO member, Turkey has been one of Israel’s fiercest critics over its ongoing assault on Gaza since 2023, calling the campaign a genocide against Palestinians. Turkey has applied to join the genocide case against Israel at the World Court and has cut off all trade ties with the country. Israel has denied the genocide allegations.
Tensions between the two regional powers have spilled over into Syria, where Israeli strikes have persisted for weeks following the installation of a new administration in Damascus. Turkey has condemned the attacks as violations of Syria’s sovereignty, while Israel insists it is acting to prevent hostile forces from gaining ground in the country.
In what he described as a “transition period”, Fidan warned that terrorist groups like Islamic State (ISIS) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could exploit the absence of a regular military force in Syria.
“Unfortunately Israel is taking out, one by one, all these capabilities that a new state can use against ISIS and other terrorist attacks and threats,” he said.
“What Israel is doing in Syria is not only threatening the security of Syria, but also is paving the way for future instability of the region,” Fidan added.
However, he noted that if the new Syrian government decided to pursue any kind of arrangement with Israel — a country that, like Turkey, shares a border with Syria — it was entirely their own decision.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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