Fidan said that contacts were made between Turkey and Israel over military operations in Syria [Getty]
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said his country would support Syria militarily if the two countries entered into a defence pact, in comments made following Israel’s repeated bombardment of Syria.
Fidan told CNN Turk that if the two countries enter a military agreement, and a situation arose that military aid was needed, Turkey was ready to provide the necessary support if requested.
Fidan also made scathing remarks about Israel’s continued bombardment and ground incursion into Syria, which has been ongoing since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
“It is unacceptable for Israel to try and provoke in Syria by using its expansionist ambitions in the region,” he was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying, with Fidan adding “we wont just sit and watch.”
Fidan also revealed that talks are ongoing between Israel and Turkey over the operations of both countries’ militaries in Syria: “While we are conducting certain operations in Syria, there needs to be a deconfliction mechanism with Israel, which flies aircraft in that region, similar to mechanisms we have with the US and Russia.”
“There are technical contacts to prevent combat elements from misunderstanding each other,” he added, noting that said contacts were being made “when needed”.
Last week Israel launched airstrikes in the Damascus area as well as at a military airport in Hama province and the T4 military airport near Palmyra in Homs province. Plans for Turkey to establish a base at the T4 airport had been reported days before the airstrikes.
Israel has also pushed forward a ground incursion into Southern Syria past the UN demarcation line and buffer separating Syria from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Following Fidan’s comments, Turkish sources told Reuters that talks were currently underway in Azerbaijan to create the channel, and that “efforts will continue to establish this mechanism”.
Likewise, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev confirmed on Wednesday that the country was acting as a mediator between the two.
In comments made to Haaretz, an Israeli source said that “any change in the deployment of foreign forces in Syria – an in particular the establishment of Turkish bases in the Palmyra region – is a red line and will be considered a breach of trust.”
Amid the Turkish-Israeli contacts, a second convoy of fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have left the Aleppo neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud following a deal last month between the SDF and Syrian government.
The deal saw a prisoner exchange between the two sides, the withdrawal of 500 SDF fighters to the country’s north east, as well as the transfer of security control in Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo to the Syrian government’s interior ministry.
Fragile humanitarian situation
Meanwhile Syria’s humanitarian situation remains precarious, with the UN warning that the Trump’s suspension funding to the UN’s World Food Programme could be devastating to the country.
The UN’s deputy special envoy to Syria, Najat Rochdi, has warned against a suspension of food aid from the US to Syria which “risks devastating humanitarian consequences”.
She noted that there were 1.5 million vulnerable Syrians that face a loss of food aid, as well as over 50,000 women and children that won’t have access to “life-saving nutrition support”.
“At a time when Syrians need global solidarity more than ever, these cuts will deepen suffering and fuel instability. The international community must act now. Syrian lives are on the line.”
Likewise, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that since December 2024, landmines and explosive remnants have killed or injured over 600 people, with 249 people being killed, including 60 children, and 379 wounded.
Richard Weir, senior crisis, conflict and arms researcher at HRW said “for the first time in over a decade there’s an opportunity to systematically tackle the extraordinary countrywide contamination in Syria by clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war.”
“Without urgent, nationwide clearance efforts, more civilians returning home to reclaim critical rights, lives, livelihoods, and land will be injured and killed,” he added.
