Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that recent talks with Israel on a “deconfliction mechanism” in Syria are not part of any normalization process between the two countries and pointed to the purely military and technical nature of the discussions, the T24 news website reported.
The statement came after Turkish and Israeli military officials held a technical meeting last week in Azerbaijan aimed at establishing a communication and coordination structure to prevent unintended clashes between the two countries’ forces operating in Syria.
“The deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel is not a step toward normalization,” a ministry spokesperson said at a weekly briefing. “It is a structure designed to ensure the safe and controlled execution of military activities in Syria and to avoid any direct confrontation between the two countries.”
The spokesperson added that the talks in Azerbaijan were the first technical meeting on setting up this mechanism and were prompted by recent tensions in Syria, where both countries are active.
The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left a power vacuum and brought Turkey and Israel into direct proximity as neighboring players in the region.
Turkey’s influence in Syria has worried Israel, which has launched airstrikes and ground incursions to keep Syrian forces away from its border.
While Israel views a Turkish military presence in Syria as a potential threat, Ankara aims to stabilize the country by leveraging its military capabilities and filling the power vacuum left by the withdrawal of Russia and Iran.
The mechanism, according to Turkish officials, aims to prevent misunderstandings, contain tensions and contribute to regional stability by allowing both militaries to exchange information about their operations on the ground.
The backdrop to these military discussions is a period of heightened tension between Ankara and Tel Aviv over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which led to more than 51,000 deaths.
Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel in November 2023 and broke off contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest of the bloodshed in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and Israel’s military response.
Israel had earlier withdrawn all diplomats from Turkey and other regional countries as a security precaution.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who accused Netanyahu of committing “state terror” and “genocide” in Gaza, also pushed for Israeli commanders and political leaders to stand trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Turkey also suspended all trade with Israel last year amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Despite these developments, both countries appear keen to avoid unintended military confrontation in Syria, where a reshuffling of regional power dynamics, including the reduced footprint of Russia and Iran, has created new uncertainties.