6 days ago
Türkiye, Syria Sign Defense Cooperation MoU after Ankara Talks
The defense ministers of Türkiye and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on military training and consultancy after talks in Ankara on Wednesday, Türkiye's defense ministry said.
The neighbors had been negotiating a comprehensive military cooperation agreement for months, after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December.
Also, speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war.
He said Israel had 'fueled certain difficulties' in Syria and warned that Israeli security "cannot be achieved through undermining the security of your neighbors."
'To the contrary, you should make sure your neighboring countries are prosperous and secure. If you try to destabilize these countries, if you take steps to that end, this could trigger other crises in the region.'
Most recently, hundreds were killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side and fighters from the Druze minority on the other.
