Ankara: We do not intend to leave Syria; Military cooperation with Damascus has begun

According to RCO News Agency, Turkish Defense Minister Yashar Guller said the country was training and providing advice to Syrian forces and helping to improve its defense capacity and has no plans to exit or move its troops from Syria.

Turkey, which has become one of the key allies of the new Syrian rulers since the fall of Bashar al -Assad’s government last December, has promised to play a role in rebuilding Syria and facilitating the return of millions of war -torn Syrian refugees. Ankara also played a key role in lifting US and European sanctions against Syria last month.

Increasing Türkiye’s influence in Damascus has raised concerns about the Zionist regime and has increased the risk of confrontation or even clashes between the two regional actors in Syria, according to Reuters.

Guller responded to Reuters’ questions that Turkey and the Zionist regime – which launched its latest air strikes on southern Syria on Tuesday night – are still conducting tensions to prevent military accidents in Syria.

“Our general priority in Syria is to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of this country and to cleanse it from terrorism, and we support Damascus in this regard,” he said.

“We have begun providing military training and consulting services and have taken steps to increase the Syrian defense capacity,” the Turkish defense minister said. However, the Turkish official did not provide further details.

Guller, who was appointed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan five years ago, insisted that it was too early to talk about the departure or move of more than 6,000 Turkish troops in Syria.

Ankara has taken control of areas of northern Syria in recent years and has deployed dozens of military bases there in recent years.

Guller attributed Turkey’s military presence in Syria to promote peace in Syria, eliminate the threat of terrorism in the region and ensure the security of Turkish borders, saying that leaving the country would only be possible if these goals are met.

Türkiye, a member of NATO, has announced in recent months that the Zionist regime has weakened its peace and reconstruction process by its military operation in Syria. Ankara has also raised strong criticisms of the occupation regime’s attacks on Gaza since the end of the year.

However, Reuters reports that the four regional actors are making quiet efforts to create a tension mechanism in Syria.

Guller described the conversations as “technical meetings to create a stress -relieving mechanism to prevent unwanted events or direct conflict” and described them as “structures for communication and harmony.”

“Our efforts to form this line of communication and its full operation are ongoing,” he said. “But it should be remembered that the stress removal mechanism does not mean normalizing relationships.”

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