* Priority is to lower tensions, US envoy says
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and signed a mutual defence pact this month with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has become one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s main allies. “This underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Türkiye.
Barrack, who is also U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said Turkey had not been warned about the Israeli strikes, “and consequently observed the aircraft heading north toward its territory and therefore could have reasonably prepared its own response,” referring to possible Turkish military reaction. Israel’s strikes on the Syrian airbase “reflected a perception — whether accurate or misplaced — that Türkiye might in the near future increase its presence at that base,” Barrack said, using the Turkish name for Turkey. That is something we are actively working on to establish in order to prevent future miscommunication,” he said. “The priority now is to lower tensions and allow space for a more measured approach.”
GENEVA, – The United States is working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria, U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said on Tuesday after Israel struck a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border.
Since Assad’s overthrow in 2024, it has also viewed Syria’s new rulers with suspicion and continued military operations in the country, most recently attacking government sites in southern and central Syria in March.
The airbase, about 70 km east of the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.
A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties. Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said on Tuesday that Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the base’s runway and storage facilities.
