Syrian official says ‘no plans’ to establish Turkish military presence

What the report says

Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, said in an interview with Axios that Damascus has no intention of creating a Turkish military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase near Aleppo, which Israel struck earlier this week. He said Turkish military officials had visited the site for training and broader cooperation, but denied that Ankara was building up forces there or planning a permanent base. Al-Shaibani said the airfield was largely empty and that he had conveyed Syria’s position to Israel.

According to the Al Jazeera report, Israel carried out eight strikes on Tuesday on the runway and storage areas at the base. Syrian state media said there were no casualties. The attack came amid rising tensions between Israel and Turkiye over Syria, where both countries are active militarily. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had warned Syria not to allow a Turkish presence at the site, while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of pushing Ankara into risky moves in Syria.

Turkiye rejected Israel’s allegations, saying there was no military delegation at the airbase before or during the strikes. Its defence ministry said Ankara would keep supporting Syria’s efforts to strengthen its own military capacity and infrastructure. Al-Shaibani said Syria remains open to talks with Israel on de-escalation, but argued that Israeli operations increase instability. More broadly, the episode underscores the contest over Syria’s postwar security landscape and the sensitivity of any foreign military role there.