Erdogan says Türkiye will not abandon Syria or let Israel draw red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Ankara would not abandon its regional partners following Israeli strikes on a Syrian military base, stressing that no outside power could dictate the limits of Türkiye's foreign policy.

Israel carried out several strikes last week on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, around 70 kilometres from the Turkish border. Israeli officials claimed the strikes were aimed at preventing Türkiye from deploying air defence systems at the base.

Israeli officials have repeatedly described any Turkish military deployment to Syrian airbases as a “red line,” arguing that it could restrict Israel's freedom of operation in Syrian airspace.

Both Ankara and Damascus denied that Türkiye planned to deploy air defence systems at Abu al-Duhur. Turkish and Syrian officials said Turkish personnel at the base were involved only in repairing the runway and control tower. US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack also supported that account.

Speaking in Ahlat in eastern Türkiye's Bitlis province after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan did not directly name Israel or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, his remarks were widely seen as a response to the Israeli strikes.

“Let me state this clearly and unequivocally: we will not allow politically moribund, presumptuous incompetents to use us as fodder for their rhetoric,” Erdogan said.

Referring specifically to Syria, Erdogan stressed that Türkiye would stand by countries and partners that had placed their trust in Ankara.

“We will never abandon a friend or brother who has placed their trust in us,” he said.

Erdogan also emphasized that Türkiye's foreign policy would not be determined by external powers, saying that no country could set the boundaries of Ankara's regional engagement.

The Turkish Presidency had previously said that the Israeli strikes were connected to Israel's domestic political calculations ahead of October elections, in which Netanyahu is expected to face a difficult contest.