Turkey rejects Israel's 'untenable' allegations over Syria airbase strike

Turkey on Wednesday firmly rejected what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, following an Israeli airstrike on a Syrian air base near the Turkish border. The Israeli government had said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy at the base, a claim Ankara dismissed as an attempt to legitimise the attack.

The airstrikes, carried out on Tuesday against the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo, drew condemnation from Turkey and criticism from the United States' special envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, who described the action as an “unnecessary escalation”. The base is located in Syria's Aleppo province, close to the Turkish border.

In a statement late Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Syria was on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase. The statement added that such a deployment would threaten Israel's security and that Israel would not tolerate it.

Responding, Turkey's presidency said the “imputations” from Mr. Netanyahu's office stemmed from his intention to pursue “expansionist and destabilising policies” ahead of elections in Israel. It added that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and abandoned its “aggressive and coercive policies”.

“The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office are intended to legitimise Israel's unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Turkish presidency said on X, without explicitly referring to any potential deployment plans.

It further stated that Turkey will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilisation of the country.

The strikes come amid worsening security tensions between Israel and Turkey, and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two nations over Syria, where both militaries are active. Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army and has emerged as one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's main allies, accuses Israel of trying to destabilise Syria and undermine its new administration. Ankara has repeatedly called for international pressure on Israel to respect Syria's territorial integrity.

Turkey has been training Syria's army, helping rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure, and providing military and diplomatic support. Last year, Turkey and Israel, also sharply at odds over the war in Gaza, established a line of communication to avoid any incidents in Syria.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, told Reuters after the strikes that Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria. He added that the U.S. already facilitates an information-sharing and dialogue mechanism among the parties.