Turkey says it does not seek confrontation with “Israel” in Syria

WORLD, April 05 (YPA) -Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday reaffirmed Ankara’s opposition to any direct confrontation with “Israel” in Syria, warning that repeated Israeli airstrikes are weakening Syria’s ability to deter threats, including from the Islamic State (ISIS).

Speaking on a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Fidan emphasized that “Syria belongs to Syrians,” and Ankara does not want any military entanglement with “Israel” on Syrian soil.

“We don’t want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria,” Fidan stated. “Syrians alone should decide their country’s security.”

If the new administration in Damascus wants to have “certain understandings” with Israel, which, like Turkey, is a neighbor of Syria, then that is their own business, he added.

On Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that “Israel contributes to creating chaos and promoting terrorism in the region and destabilizing strategic stability,” adding that “it must first abandon its expansionist policies in order to establish security in the region.”

“Israel poses the greatest threat to the security of the region through its attacks on regional peace and the national unity of its countries,” Fidan emphasized.

@E.Y.M