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Turkey won’t abandon Syria or let Israel draw ‘red lines’, Erdogan says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded on Monday to Israeli strikes on a Syrian military base last week, saying Ankara would not abandon its friends in the region and that no outside power could set the boundaries of Turkish foreign policy.
Israel carried out several strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, approximately 70km from the Turkish border, claiming that Ankara was preparing to deploy air defence systems there.
Israeli officials have repeatedly said that the Turkish military's use of airbases in Syria would constitute a "red line," arguing that such a presence could restrict Israel's freedom of action in Syrian airspace.
Both Turkish and Syrian officials denied that Ankara had planned to deploy air defence systems at Abu al-Duhur, saying Turkish personnel were there solely to repair the runway and control tower.
That account was also supported by US Ambassador Tom Barrack.
Erdogan, who had been on holiday for several days, notably refrained from mentioning Israel or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name during his speech on Monday.
The Turkish Presidency said last week that the Israeli strikes were directly linked to Israel's elections in October, in which Netanyahu is expected to perform poorly.