Exclusive-Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

By Samia Nakhoul

Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, but repeated Israeli strikes on military facilities there are eroding the new government's ability to deter threats from enemies, including Islamic State, Turkey's foreign minister told Reuters on Friday.

In an interview on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, Hakan Fidan said Israel's actions were fuelling regional instability by targeting Syria, where the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a close ally of Turkey.

"We don't want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians," Fidan said.

Turkey, which shares a 911 km (566-mile) border with Syria, has emerged as one of the most influential power brokers in Syria and allies of its new Islamist government. Ankara had for years backed the rebels who now make up the bulk of the new government as they fought to topple former President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel has accused Turkey of trying to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate.

Asked whether Turkey's plans for a joint defence pact with Syria were prompting Israel to intensify strikes on Syrian military bases, Fidan said Ankara was working with regional partners to form a joint platform with Syria to block the re-emergence of Islamic State and fight shared threats, including the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

Undermining that effort, he said, risks dragging the entire region back into chaos.

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to a genocide against the Palestinians, and has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting all trade.

Israel denies the genocide accusations.

The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria for weeks since a new administration took control in Damascus. Turkey has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territory, while Israel has said it would not allow any hostile forces in Syria.

In this "transition period", Fidan said, Turkey does not want to see Islamic State (ISIS) or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group take advantage of "the absence of the regular forces, some absence of military capabilities" 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.

However, if the new administration in Damascus wants to have "certain understandings" with Israel, which like Turkey is a neighbour of Syria, then that is their own business, he added.

Turkey has vowed to help rebuild Syria, from infrastructure to state institutions, and provided it with political support in international platforms. It has called for the full lifting of Western sanctions on Syria for reconstruction efforts to start, while welcoming the formation of a transitional government.

TIES WITH U.S.

On Friday, Fidan, who held talks last week with U.S. officials in Washington, said that he understood the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was reviewing its policy regarding Syria and the sanctions imposed on it.

"Now we have a new Syria. I think that new Syria requires a different approach," he said, adding that Ankara had been conveying its views on the matter to its Western allies.

While eyeing warmer ties with Washington under Trump and backing its initiative to end the Ukraine war, Turkey has also opposed some of the new administration's Middle East policies, including a plan to take over the Gaza Strip and turn it into a "Riviera of the Middle East".

Fidan pointed to Trump's "problem-solving techniques" as a way of resolving lingering disputes between the two NATO allies, especially U.S. sanctions on Turkey's defence industry, and added he was hopeful a solution could be found.

He said any possible peace deal brokered by the U.S. between Kyiv and Moscow would be "difficult to digest", but still better than more death and destruction, and added a deterrence factor was needed to ensure the war did not restart.

Turkey has maintained cordial ties with both Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has voiced support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and provided it with military help, while opposing sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine has said Turkey, the second largest army in NATO, would be an important guarantor for security. Ankara has said it would consider joining a peace initiative on the ground, though it has said details of such a mission were still not clear.

Fidan repeated Turkey's offer to host Russia and Ukraine for possible peace talks, after having hosted initial talks in 2022.

Asked about Trump's threats of U.S. military strikes against Iran, Fidan said diplomacy was needed to resolve the dispute and that Ankara did not want to see any attack taking place against its neighbour Iran.

"We need to bring the Americans and the Iranians together to have frank and sincere discussions. This should be the only way forward."