3 minute read
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government had made clear to Israel that it was not working with Türkiye to establish a military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib, but Israel nevertheless attacked the site. Al-Shaibani made the remarks in an interview with Axios.
“There is 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.
The minister said Israel had no legitimate justification for the bombing. He said work under way at the Abu al-Duhur airbase was “limited to restoring the airfield and its facilities, which were damaged during the war”, and that it was intended for use by the Syrian Air Force.
“The base was, in fact, largely empty. It had not yet been fully restored or become fully operational, and work there was still in the restoration phase. Therefore, linking the strike to a Turkish military presence at the base is not supported by the situation on the ground,” he added.
Al-Shaibani did not deny that Turkish officers had visited the base several days before the Israeli strike, stressing that this was part of “ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and 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 programmes with a number of countries, not only Türkiye. Similar cooperation has taken place and continues with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Russia. Syria is a sovereign state and has the right to establish cooperation and alliances with any country, including Türkiye,” he stressed.
Earlier, Syria condemned Israeli Air Force strikes on the military airfield in Idlib province. The attacks damaged the airfield’s runways. No civilian casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told Axios that he could not comment on the strike. US and Israeli officials said Israel had told the Trump administration that the purpose of the strike was to prevent a Turkish military presence at the airbase.
In a video posted on X on August 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had warned Syria before the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base.
Türkiye’s Defence Ministry, for its part, denied reports that a Turkish military delegation had been at the airbase when it was struck by Israel.