Syrian Foreign Minister Denies Plans for Turkish Military Deployment at Abu al‑Duhur Airbase

The foreign minister stated in an interview that Turkish military officials had visited the airbase as part of training.

Published On 20 Aug 202620 Aug 2026

Syria has no intention of establishing a Turkish military presence at the Abu al‑Duhur airbase that was struck by Israel earlier this week, Foreign Minister Asaad al‑Shaibani said.

Al‑Shaibani told US news outlet Axios on Wednesday that although Turkish military personnel had visited the site for training and broader cooperation, he rejected any permanent Turkish deployment, noting that the facility was largely vacant.

“There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to maintain a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site,” al‑Shaibani said, emphasizing that he had communicated this to Israel.

On Tuesday, Israel conducted eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al‑Duhur base near Aleppo, according to state media, marking what appears to be Israel’s first strike on Syrian government assets since March.

No casualties were reported, and the attack drew international condemnation.

Al‑Shaibani said Israel had no legitimate justification for the attack.

He added that while Syria remains open to negotiations with Israel on de‑escalation, any future agreement must address the security concerns of both nations, reiterating that Israeli military operations would increase regional instability.

The strikes come amid rising security tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria, where both countries maintain military presence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had warned Syria not to permit a Turkish presence at the base.

“Our message was very clear. Don’t. I guess they didn’t quite understand the message,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria”.

“Israel will not allow any entity to threaten its security,” he said.

“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,” Katz added.

Turkey has rejected what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria.

The Turkish defence ministry said on Thursday that Ankara would continue supporting Syria’s efforts to develop its own military capacity and infrastructure.

It noted that there was no military delegation at the air base hit by Israel before or during the attacks, and called for the international community to take more concrete and effective measures against Israel’s actions, which it said threatened regional peace and stability.

Turkey, a NATO member, has emerged as one of Syrian President Ahmed al‑Sharaa’s main allies and has accused Israel of trying to destabilise Syria and undermine its new administration.

It has also repeatedly called for international pressure and measures on Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.

Last year, Turkey and Israel established a communication channel to avoid incidents in Syria.

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