Turkey denies military visit to Syria air base hit by Israel

ANALYSIS:

On Thursday, Turkey firmly denied any military presence at the Abu al-Zuhur airbase in north Syria, which was struck by Israel earlier in the week. This denial came two days after Syria claimed Israel had targeted a disused military air base near Aleppo, a location that had been inactive since 2012. Israel had claimed a Turkish military delegation had recently visited the site, while a Syrian war monitor said it was part of efforts to bring the base back into service.

However, a Turkey defence official stated that there was no Turkish military delegation present at the Abu al-Zuhur airbase before or during the Israeli attack. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had previously stated that Turkey's presence at the base was a threat, warning that Israel would not stand idly by and allow a "military entrenchment" to move southward from the region.

Nevertheless, the Turkish defence ministry spokesman, Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk, condemned the Israeli strikes as "unacceptable" and vowed that Ankara would act resolutely to protect Syria's efforts to rebuild stability and security post-war. He emphasized that any attack violating Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity would not be tolerated, and that Turkey's support for Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity would continue unabated.