ANKARA: Turkey on Thursday denied having any military presence at an air base in north Syria struck by Israel earlier this week and vowed to continue “resolutely” supporting Syrian sovereignty.
The denial came two days after Syria accused Israel of striking a disused military air base near the northwestern city of Aleppo that was damaged during the civil war and has been out of service since 2012.
Israel said a Turkish military delegation had recently visited the site, with a Syrian war monitor saying it was part of efforts to reactivate the base.
“There was no Turkish military delegation at the Abu al-Zuhur airbase before or during the attack carried out by Israel,” a defence official told journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said Turkish forces had recently toured the base, with the prime minister himself warning that Israel would not tolerate a “threat” from a Turkish presence there.
“We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment moving southward, because it threatens us,” Netanyahu told an army radio podcast.
But Turkish defence ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk said the strikes were “unacceptable” and that Ankara would act “resolutely” to protect Syria’s efforts to establish post-war stability.
“Israel’s attack on the Abu al-Zuhur air base is aimed at harming Syria’s stability, security, unity, integrity and infrastructure. Attacks violating Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable,” he told journalists.
“In this context, our efforts and contributions to protect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and help it establish a stable and secure environment will continue resolutely.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had on Tuesday said the Israeli strikes took place after “a visit by a Turkish military delegation to the airfield in recent days as part of efforts to reactivate it”.
