Israel warns Turkey that repurposing bases in Syria crosses 'a red line'
In a meeting held between Israeli and Turkish representatives, it was made clear that any change in the deployment of foreign forces in Palmyra will be dealt with accordingly
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Thursday that a meeting was held the day before in Azerbaijan between representatives from Israel and Turkey in the hopes of coordinating the two countries' presence in Syria.
The delegation was led by National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, and included senior representatives of the Defense Ministry and other security authorities.
According to a political source, during the meeting Israel delivered a strong message to its counterpart in Ankara. "Any change in the deployment of foreign forces in Syria, especially the establishment of Turkish bases in the Palmyra area, is a red line from Israel's perspective." Preventing such a threat primarily falls on the regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa, Israel said, and "any action that endangers Israel will endanger the control of the rest of the al-Sharaa regime."
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed on Wednesday that his country is in talks with Israel regarding the tension in Syria, noting that "Turkey has no interest in conflict with Israel or any other country in the region."
The source, involved in the details of the talks, told i24NEWS that there is a possibility of establishing a security coordination mechanism between Israel and Turkey in Syria, similar to the existing mechanism with Russia, but emphasized that these are only initial discussions.
According to foreign reports, the IDF recently attacked the T4 base and the Palmyra area, hours before the arrival of special Turkish forces to the location. Intelligence sources assess that Turkey intends to utilize the base and turn it into a hub of rocket activity and establish a permanent military presence.