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Turkey’s National Defense Ministry on August 20 denied that any of its personnel was present at Syria’s Abu Duhur air base before or during the Israeli attack on the facility two days earlier.
“We confirm that no Turkish military delegation was present at Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base before or during the Israeli attack,” the ministry said in response to reporters’ questions following its weekly press briefing, according to Anadolu Agency.
The ministry described the attack on the military air base as “an act aimed at harming Syria’s stability, security, unity and integrity, as well as its infrastructure.”
“We emphasize at every opportunity that attacks violating Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable,” it said.
“For the peace and stability of both Syria and the region, it is essential that Israel end such reckless attacks and fulfill its obligations under international law,” the ministry added.
It further stressed that Turkey will continue to support Syria’s efforts to build its infrastructure and military capacity under the “one army” principle.
These remarks, in part, contradict what Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told Axios just a day earlier. While the minister denied that there were plans to grant Ankara access to Abu Duhur, he confirmed that a Turkish military delegation had visited the air base.
“There was no Turkish military build-up at the base in any sense that would justify such an interpretation,” he told the news site. “The base was, in fact, largely empty. It had not yet been fully rehabilitated or become fully operational, and the work there was still at the rehabilitation stage.”
“Therefore, linking the strike to a Turkish military presence at the base is not supported by the situation on the ground as it stood at the time,” Shaibani added, while acknowledging that officers from Turkey’s military visited the Abu Duhur base days before the strikes as part of what he describes as “ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and the exchange of expertise.”
“Syria is currently working to rebuild its military and civilian institutions and develop their capabilities. It therefore benefits from cooperation and training programs with a number of countries, not Turkey alone. Similar cooperation has taken place and continues with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Russia,” he continued. “Syria is a sovereign state, and it has the right to establish relations of cooperation and alliance with any country, including Turkey.”
Shaibani also told Axios that his government has informed the administration of United States President Donald Trump “that we do not trust Israel’s intentions towards Syria, and that we believe current Israeli policy, including its military escalation and actions on the ground, does not contribute to stability in Syria or the region.”
“Security cannot be one-sided. Just as we take Israeli security concerns into account, Israel must also take Syrian security concerns into account and seriously address our concerns regarding its expansionist policy and military operations inside Syrian territory,” he added.
This contradiction between the two allies indicates that Damascus was not pleased with whatever plans Ankara had for Abu Duhur.
This would be in line with what an Israeli security official told Fox News right after the Israeli attack on the air base. The official suggested at the time that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa may “didn’t understand what was going on, or didn’t know.”
It is also possible that the attack drove a wedge between Damascus and Ankara, with the former attempting to use the Israeli escalation as a justification to curb Turkish influence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Syria after the attack of being on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the air base, adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security.
Netanyahu later revealed that Israel had also warned Turkey against any military activity in Syria ahead of the attack on Abu Duhur.
A report by Reuters also revealed that the head of Mossad, Roman Gofman, held a phone call with Shaibani last week, specifically on August 14, although it is unclear whether the Israeli spy chief delivered a warning to Damascus during the call.
Turkey’s latest condemnations and Syria’s attempts to appease the United States and Israel did not work, as Defense Minister Israel Katz renewed threats to both countries on August 20. The minister accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria.”
“Israel will not allow any entity to threaten its security,” Katz said in a Hebrew-language post on X.
“It is preferable for Erdogan to continue delivering empty, delusional speeches against Israel in the Turkish parliament rather than testing Israel’s resolve to defend itself,” he added.
The Israeli attack on Abu Duhur exposed some issues in the alliance between Turkey and Syria. Damascus addressed the escalation by attempting to further appease the U.S. and Israel, leaving Ankara to take the blame and even contradicting its narrative on the incident.
This is not likely to be the end of the crisis, as Israel could escalate further to drive Syria away from Turkey—something that al-Sharaa may welcome.
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