Turkey is holding technical discussions with Israel to reduce the risks of escalation in Syria, but without at the same time trying to normalize its relations with Israel. This was announced by Turkey's number one diplomat Hakan Fidan, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Turkey is a significant ally of the Islamist-led coalition that came to power in Syria after ousting President Bashar Assad from power last December.
Ankara's new influence in Syria worries Israel, which has carried out a series of strikes and operations to push Syrian forces away from its northern border. Last week, the UN accused Israel of wanting to destabilize Syria after the deadly strikes it carried out.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded in late February the complete demilitarization of southern Syria and said he would not tolerate the forces of the new government in Damascus deploying south of the Syrian capital.
Turkey has several thousand soldiers stationed on Syrian territory.
“Now, while we are conducting certain operations in Syria, we need a coordination mechanism to ensure the continuity of combat operations and reduce the risks of escalation at a given time with Israel, which is sending its planes to this area, just as we do with the Americans and the Russians,“ Fidan told Turkish television “CNN Turk“. “It is normal to have contacts at a technical level to define this,“ he added. However, he clarified that this does not mean that Ankara will normalize its relations with Israel.
Turkey has suspended its trade relations with Israel in response to the war in the Gaza Strip. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a “terrorist state“ and criticized, in his words, the “genocidal policy“ pursued by the Israeli government after the October 7, 2023, attack by “Hamas“ against southern Israel.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that direct negotiations are underway with Turkish representatives in Azerbaijan. The Israeli side expressed gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for organizing the meeting.
“At the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a meeting was held yesterday, April 9, between a military-political delegation led by the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Defense and security services, and their Turkish counterparts“, the service said in a statement.