Damascus: No Turkish military presence at Abu al-Dhahab airport, no intention to establish a permanent base there

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani affirmed that there was no intention to establish a Turkish military base at Abu al-Dhaher Airport in Idlib Governorate, nor to maintain a permanent Turkish military presence there, noting that the airport had not witnessed any Turkish military buildup prior to its recent Israeli attack.

In written responses to questions from the US news website Axios, which were published by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) yesterday, al-Shaybani stated: “There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to maintain a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site.” He emphasized that the Israeli airstrikes targeting Abu al-Dhaher Airport in northern Syria were not based on any legitimate justification, and that the Syrian government had clarified to the Israeli side that there was no Turkish military buildup at the airport.

Al-Shaybani clarified that Abu al-Dhaher Airport was nearly empty at the time of the Israeli attack, and that its rehabilitation works had not been completed, nor was it fully operational, as activities there were still in the rehabilitation phase.

He added, “There was no Turkish military buildup at the base in any form that could justify such an explanation,” stressing that linking the attack to a Turkish military presence at the airport was not grounded in the on-the-ground situation that existed at the time.

For its part, the Turkish Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement that there was no Turkish military mission at Syria’s Abu al-Dhaher Airport, either before or during the Israeli attack.

The ministry stated in a statement yesterday that “the attack launched by Israel on Abu al-Dhaher Airport is an act aimed at undermining Syria’s stability, security, unity, territorial integrity, and infrastructure.”