Tel Aviv: Turkey plans to establish a massive military presence in Syria. This causes concerns in the US and Israel. This mainly because this may give Moscow a foothold in Syria after the revolution.
Recent reports in the Arabic and Turkish media and social media claim that Turkey intends to establish new military bases in Syria as part of a defence agreement with the new Syrian government formed by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) under the leadership of Ahmed Al-Sharaa (aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani).
According to a report in the website of Middle East Media Research Institute (MMRI), Turkey has been the primary supporter of HTS, which has a jihadist background and which launched the offensive that resulted in the downfall of Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024. With the fall of this regime and the decline in the status of its two biggest allies, Russia and Iran, in Syria, Turkey has seized the opportunity to try to significantly increase its influence in the country in the domain of defence (among other fields) – in an apparent attempt to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate.
Noteworthy in this context were statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a January 2, 2025 press conference. He said that in this new era, if any majority or minority group in Syria feels distress or concern – whether it is the Alawites, the Yazidis, the Christians or others – Turkey is the shepherd and protector of these [groups] and of all others in Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit Damascus soon as part of Turkish efforts to legitimise the new Syrian government and possibly to prepare the ground for the deployment of large Turkish forces in Syria. Ahead of his visit, Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus for the first time in 12 years, and sent Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın and later Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
According to recent reports, Syria and Turkey are working on a defence agreement, as part of which Turkey will establish new military bases in Syria. These reports have yet to be confirmed by Turkey, which already maintains military bases in northern Syria, established before the fall of the Assad regime as part of understandings with Russia. Moreover, there is a great deal of discrepancy between the reports regarding the location and the nature of the new bases to be established by Turkey in the country.
On the matter of the Turkish military bases, the report mentions that although the military cooperation agreement between Turkey and Syria has not yet taken definite shape, the talks are concerned with strategic issues such as rebuilding the Syrian armed forces, establishing military bases in the Damascus and Homs areas, defending Syrian airspace and establishing a base in the Tartus/Latakia region. These initiatives indicate the existence of serious plans to strengthen Turkey’s security from the air and sea. Karagül added that Turkey is [also] likely to establish a military base – an airbase of naval base – in Lebanon, in light of the weakness of the state there and its willingness to cooperate with Turkey in various domains.
Turkish journalist Sinan Burhan noted on a Turkish television channel that there are reports about an emerging military cooperation agreement with the new Syrian government, and about plans to establish a Turkish military base in Damascus and a naval base in Tartus.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
