Key facts
- Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated Israel does not seek to escalate tensions with Turkey.
- Saar asserted that Israel will not accept the establishment of Turkish bases in Syria.
- Israel recently struck Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase based on intelligence about planned Turkish troop deployment.
- Both Syria and Turkey have denied plans for a permanent Turkish military presence in Syria.
- Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter indicated that Turkey's potential expansion in Syria crossed a red line.
- Leiter mentioned prior understandings between Israel and the Syrian administration that maintained a status quo.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has stated that Israel has no intention of escalating tensions with Turkey but will not tolerate a Turkish military presence in Syria. Saar emphasized Israel's commitment to preserving the status quo and preventing a situation similar to Iran's influence in Lebanon and Gaza.
These remarks follow recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase, which Israel claims were executed based on intelligence indicating Turkey's plans to deploy troops. Both Syria and Turkey have refuted these claims, denying any such intentions.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter elaborated that Israel received intelligence suggesting Turkey aimed to significantly expand its military presence in Syria, which Jerusalem viewed as crossing a red line. Leiter stated that Israel acted after these warnings were disregarded, referencing prior understandings during the Biden administration that had frozen the existing situation in Syria. He noted that these understandings were reaffirmed in a January 2026 meeting in Paris involving senior officials from both countries.
Leiter also mentioned that Israel is open to dialogue with Turkey and that a meeting between senior officials from both nations occurred approximately a month prior to establish a mechanism for managing such situations. He indicated that Israel understands Syria does not seek a confrontation and suggested that Turkey's planned move might have been imposed on the Syrians. The ambassador pointed to conflicting statements from Turkish and Syrian officials regarding a recent Turkish delegation's presence in Syria as evidence of this disconnect.
Separately, Saar met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku to discuss preparations for an upcoming Azerbaijani-Israeli business forum, with both sides expressing satisfaction with recent high-level contacts and anticipating the forum's contribution to expanding trade and economic ties. Saar also commented on the historical deterioration of Israel-Turkey relations, attributing it to choices made in the 1990s, and noted that while the Israeli bureaucracy views Turkey as significant, the current Netanyahu government has adopted an anti-Turkey stance.