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Turkey will provide weapons systems and logistical tools to Syria under a cooperation accord signed on August 13, Turkish Defense Ministry sources announced.
“This signing marks another significant step in cooperation. The memorandum aims to coordinate and plan military training and cooperation, provide consulting, and share knowledge and experience; ensure the procurement of military equipment, weapon systems, logistics materials, and related services to meet defense needs; and provide technical support and training for their use when needed,” the sources told reporters on August 14, according to the Anadolu Agency.
“With the knowledge, experience, and expertise of our Armed Forces, we will continue to support Syria’s fight against terrorism and to enhance its defense and security capacity,” it added.
The memorandum of understanding signed by Turkey and Syria earlier in the week is just a first step towards a comprehensive military cooperation accord that they have been negotiating for the last few months.
The step came as Ankara is growing impatient with what it calls the lack of implementation of a deal between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the group, which controls vast parts of northern and eastern Syria, into state apparatus.
Responding to questions from reporters on the current situation in Syria, the Turkish MoD sources said: “Since the agreement signed between the Syrian government and the terrorist organization SDF on March 10, 2025, the terrorist organization SDF has failed to fulfill any of the terms of the deal and has continued actions undermining Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity.”
“Most recently, the separatist rhetoric voiced at the conference organized by the SDF in Hasakah on Aug. 8 is inconsistent with the memorandum they signed with the Syrian Government,” it added.
The sources went on to accuse the SDF of carrying out provocative and divisive actions to disturb Damascus’ efforts to unify the country.
“The Syrian government’s calls for ‘one state, one army’ are essential for establishing the long-awaited peace and stability in the region. Our expectation is the full compliance with the signed memorandum and its prompt implementation on the ground, paving the way for a stable, peaceful, secure, and terror-free Syria,” said the sources.
“From the very beginning, we have supported Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity, and we will continue to do so. In this context, with the memorandum of understanding on joint training and consultancy signed yesterday, we have taken this commitment a step further,” they added.
Last month, a Turkish MoD source told Reuters the Syrian military was in need of restructuring after years of conflict, citing shortcomings in discipline, training, organization, and modernization.
These issues manifested during the March massacres of Alawites in the coast, where over 1,400 civilians were executed by government forces. The same issues reappeared last month when government forces attacked the Druze in the southern governorate of al-Suwayda. More than 1,600 were killed in the battle, including over 400 civilians who were executed by government forces.
Despite these issues, Turkey began delivering weapons, mainly armored vehicles, to the Syrian military even before the memorandum of understanding was signed.
Ankara even planned to deploy forces in key naval, air and ground bases in western and central Syria earlier this year. However, an intervention by Israel put these plans on halt. Israel also intervened in al-Suwayda, allowing the Druze to maintain an enclave there.
The SDF will not likely move forwards with the March agreement, considering Damascus refusal to make any concessions. Meanwhile, Ankara seems in a rush to push the Syrian military into a battle with the Kurds in northern and eastern Syria.
It is logical to assume that Turkey will provide direct military support, including airstrikes, to the Syrian military if a battle with the SDF breaks out. However, a victory is not guaranteed, and Damascus could end up losing Western support which has been critical for the legitimacy of the Islamist-led interim government. Ankara does not seem to care a whole lot about these risks.
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as expected and feared. i truly lament öcalan’s decision to disarm.
the war in ukraine was created by the criminals running the western economies in order to cut off russian natural gas to europe to be replaced with fracked lng, which is pathetically a waste of energy and environment. mostly it has succeeded: they have killed 2 million people in this criminal scheme, don’t expect it so stop, unfortunately. europe is being turned into a de industrialized shadow of itself: the sellout politicians win: wef – lodge lackeys.
turkey is following orders . the greater israel masters have one unified mission . absolute control of all middle east energy resources . period.
if the greater israel project succeeds . russia will find endless war as expansion is the intended goal. russians may think we have oil we will be ok . but the plan is total control . this effects china , india and all asian nations . only fools can not understand . endless war .
entire world is the goal.
er,dog,gan is the obnoxious chihuahua of the middle east, all bark and no bite.
the thieving turds are for the chop.