Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that before the attack on the Abu Zuhur Military Air Base in Syria, they warned Damascus not to allow the Turkish presence at the base. While Netanyahu's statements received a harsh reaction from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Shaybani announced that there was no Turkish military presence at the base.
NETANYAHU: OUR MESSAGE WAS VERY CLEAR
Netanyahu claimed that they warned Syria not to allow the Turkish presence at the base before the attack and said, "Our message was very clear. Do not allow it. I think they did not fully understand the message."
HARD REACTION FROM EHUD BARAK TO NETANYAHU
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reacted harshly to Netanyahu's statements. Barak argued that Netanyahu "deliberately" escalated tensions with Türkiye.
Making a statement on the US-based social media platform X account, Barak said, "It is difficult to decide which one is more."
Barak claimed that Netanyahu was trying to gain political gain by increasing security tensions during the election process and said, "It is clearly seen that entering the elections with a series of security tensions that will increase public concern has a political purpose."
Emphasizing that Türkiye is "neither Iran nor Assad's Syria", Barak stated that there is no strategic problem that cannot be solved with Ankara.
Barak said, "There is no strategic problem with Turkey that cannot be resolved, alleviated or postponed in the long term through secret contacts coordinated with the United States and its influence in Turkey and Syria. Netanyahu is completely derailed."
"NETANYAHU IS FOCUSED ON POLITICAL SURVIVAL"
The former Israeli Prime Minister argued that Netanyahu is focusing on Israel's political future rather than its security.
Barak said Netanyahu was behaving like a "gambling addict", claiming that there had been a "total failure" in achieving war objectives and the possibility of political defeat.
"His reckless behavior deeply concerns our few allies and friends around the world and in the region," Barak said, arguing that "it will take a long time" to repair the security and diplomatic damage caused by Netanyahu.
Barak stated that "there is no point in taking further reckless measures that could ultimately backfire."
"THERE WAS NO TURKISH BASE" RESPONSE FROM SYRIA TO ISRAEL
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Shaybani rejected the justification for Israel's attack in his statement to the US-based Axios.
Shaybani said that they clearly informed Israel that there are no plans to establish a Turkish military base at Abu Zuhur Military Air Base.
Stating that the base was designed for use by the Syrian Air Force, Şeybani stated that Turkish military officials visited the facility within the scope of training and broader military cooperation.
Şeybani stated that the base was largely empty and not yet operational and that no Turkish soldiers were stationed there.
"There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, create a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces," the Syrian Foreign Minister said.
DAMASCUS: "THERE WAS NO LEGITIMATE JUSTIFICATION FOR ISRAEL'S ATTACK"
Shaybani argued that Israel had no legitimate reason for its attack.
Stating that Syria is open to negotiations with Israel to reduce tensions, Shaybani said that the two countries have made significant progress in reaching a security agreement in the US-mediated talks that lasted about a year.
Shaybani claimed that Israel later backed out of its commitments and the agreement was not implemented.
The Syrian Foreign Minister emphasized that any future agreement must take into account the security concerns of the parties and respect Syria's sovereignty.
