Turkish President Erdogan Claims Israel Is Biggest Threat to Syria

Latest Developments

Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking ‘Fragmentation’ of Syria: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled Israel the “primary obstacle” to a stable Syria on December 16, pledging that Ankara would continue to support the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led government responsible for ousting former dictator Bashar al-Assad from power in late 2024. “It is clear who will benefit from the fragmentation of Syria,” Erdogan said, adding that “a safer tomorrow for Syria is only possible with a vision of common history and all segments of society.” Shortly after Assad’s removal, the IDF moved into the buffer zone that separates the Israeli Golan Heights from Syrian territory, with Israel reportedly insisting on remaining in the region unless the new Syrian government agrees to a full peace and normalization deal with the Jewish state.
Turkish Threats Against Kurdish Forces: Erdogan also warned against U.S. cooperation with the People’s Defense Units (YPG), the primary component of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which operates alongside the United States to combat ISIS. The YPG recently agreed to integrate into the Syrian security forces, but Erdogan declared nonetheless that “if [the YPG] resists [integration], it will turn into a crisis.” Meanwhile, a Turkish media outlet recently reported that if the SDF does not integrate into the Syrian national military by the end of 2025, “Damascus will carry out an operation and [Turkey] will support it.”

U.S. Envoy Meets With Netanyahu for Regional Brief: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy for Syria and ambassador to Turkey, on December 15 to discuss Israeli military action in Syria amid ongoing negotiations for a broad security deal between Jerusalem and Damascus. After the meeting, Barrack posted on X that the delegations had held “constructive dialogue (while) working towards regional peace and stability.” One source told The Jerusalem Post that “Israel and the United States see eye-to-eye” on Syria, while another said that “each side now understands what it needs to do” to work toward a security deal between the Syrian and Israeli governments.