Turkey denies military delegation visited Syrian base ahead of Israeli strike

Turkey’s defense ministry asserts that no Turkish military delegation had visited Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase ahead of Israel’s strikes on the site Tuesday, rejecting Israeli claims surrounding Ankara’s activity there.

“We state that there was no Turkish military delegation at the [Abu al-Duhur] airbase in Syria before or during Israel’s attack on the base,” Turkey’s defense ministry spokesperson says at a Turkish-language press briefing.

“For the peace and stability of both Syria and the region, it is essential that Israel ceases these reckless attacks and complies with the requirements of international law,” the spokesperson adds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Syria late Tuesday of being on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase, adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security, and Netanyahu later said Israel had also warned Turkey against any military activity in Syria ahead of the strike.

Turkey’s presidency condemned Israel over the “untenable allegations,” without explicitly referring to any potential deployment plans.

Syrian officials, however, have admitted that Turkish officials had visited the base in question a day before the Israeli strikes, but denied that there were plans for a Turkish military deployment.