Concrete steps are set to be taken in Syria, Turkish Defense Ministry sources said on Thursday after reports of a possible establishment of military bases there.
“In line with the new Syrian government's requests, a road map with concrete goals is being drawn up to bolster the capacities of the Syrian army,” the sources said at a weekly news conference in the capital, Ankara.
However, they dismissed media reports that Türkiye would build two military bases in northern Syria.
Türkiye prioritizes the preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity, ensuring its stability and prevention of terrorist elements, especially the U.S.-backed PKK/YPG in the north, according to sources.
A ministry delegation held a meeting with Syrian counterparts last week on the issue and agreed on Syria’s territorial integrity and the elimination of the threat of terrorism, the sources stressed.
“It’s too soon to discuss such things,” they said.
Ankara has mounted multiple operations against the PKK/YPG in Syria since 2016 and operates at least 125 military positions in the country’s northern region close to the Turkish border, which stretches for 910 kilometers (565 miles).
The YPG is the extension of the PKK terrorist organization, which has killed thousands in Türkiye since the 1980s and carved out a self-styled autonomous entity for itself in Syria's northeast as the civil war raged in Türkiye's southern neighbor.
When anti-regime forces advanced to take back the country from the oppressive Assad regime in December, the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition launched a parallel operation to drive the YPG out of the cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij in the north.
The YPG, which enjoyed relative immunity from the conflict during the Assad era and occupied much of the oil-producing northeast, mulls its future as the new administration rejected the idea of autonomy for them.
Ankara has repeatedly said it was time for the PKK/YPG to disband and that it would support the new Syrian administration – which is friendly toward Türkiye – in its battle against both Daesh and the YPG while calling for a joint fight against them.
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Syria's newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Ankara for talks on steps to be taken against the PKK/YPG and other issues.
During his visit to the Turkish capital, al-Sharaa said Türkiye and Syria were building a “joint strategy” to confront security threats to both countries.
Erdoğan told reporters that he and al-Sharaa evaluated "the joint steps that could be taken to establish security and economic stability in the country" and that they were "pleased to see that we agreed on almost every issue."
Türkiye, he added, is "ready to provide the necessary support to Syria in the fight against all forms of terrorism, whether it is Daesh or the PKK."
"Frankly, we have no other way than to join forces towards the same goal for the safety of our countries and our region," Erdoğan said.
Türkiye has threatened a military operation against the PKK/YPG unless it accepts Ankara's conditions for a "bloodless" transition after Assad's fall.
Syria's new authorities have called on the terrorist group to hand over its weapons and integrate into a new national army, rejecting demands for “Kurdish self-rule.”
The Turkish Defense Ministry also made it clear Türkiye’s opposition to any plans that aim to displace Palestinians from Gaza.
“We are completely opposed to the exile, displacement or expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza,” the ministry spokesperson said.
“Israel, through its annexation policies that aim to displace Palestinians from their lands, is also denying the right of Palestinian refugees to return," the spokesperson added.
Israel said on Thursday it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump's plan for the territory. Trump earlier this week announced that the United States could "take over" and "own" the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians, as well as allies, have vehemently rejected Trump's proposal, fearing Israel will never allow the refugees to return and that it would destabilize the region.
Türkiye is a staunch supporter of the resistance movement Hamas and has repeatedly denounced Israel's "genocide" of Palestinians since 2023.
"Displacement of Palestinians, evacuation of Gaza is unacceptable. (The conflict) itself originated from Israelis' settlement in lands Palestinians were driven out of. The issue can be resolved largely through the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday.
The ministry sources also responded to recent reports about a Turkish corvette intervening with the undersea cable-laying activities of a ship 11 kilometers (7 miles) north of the island of Crete.
“The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have repeatedly made it clear that it will not allow any attempt to violate our country’s rights and interests,” the sources said.
“We will intervene in the activities that Greece tries to carry out as a fait accompli in areas where we have rights and interests, just as we did in the past, today and in the future,” the sources said.
In the said incident, the sources continued, Greek ships carrying out such operations were warned by radio.
Ankara and Athens seek to improve relations after years of hostilities, but maritime jurisdictions remain a thorny issue. Countries that came close to an all-out war in the 1990s over the Aegean Sea remain vigilant, with Türkiye concentrating on developing a domestic defense industry. Greece relies on foreign partners to boost its defenses.
Ankara has repeatedly warned its neighbor against entering an arms race with Türkiye, particularly on building a military presence on the disputed Aegean islands since the 1960s, in violation of postwar treaties.
Greece's purchase of F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. and the upping of defense budgets are meant to counter the protection of Turkish interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Though they bolstered their defenses, Türkiye and Greece still count on a full thaw in relations.
