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

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The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria.​

Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria after repeated Israeli attacks on military sites there undermined the new government's ability to deter threats, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Friday.

In an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Fidan said Israel's actions in Syria - where the administration of President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a close Turkish ally - were paving the way for future regional instability.

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


NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its attacks on Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks in 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.

IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria since a new administration took control in Damascus.

Turkey's response ​

Turkey has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territories, while Israel has said it would not allow any hostile forces in Syria.

Asked about US President Donald Trump's threats of 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 neighbor Iran.