Erdogan accuses Israel of fomenting divisions in Syria

12th April 2025

3 minutes read

Erdogan accuses Israel of fomenting divisions in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel on Friday of seeking to “destroy the revolution” in Syria by inflaming divisions within the country.

Erdogan said during a diplomatic forum in Antalya, southern Turkey, that Israel was “trying to destroy the December 8 revolution by stoking ethnic and religious conflicts in Syria and inciting minorities in the country to oppose the government.”

He added, “We will not allow Syria to be dragged into another spiral of instability,” noting that “the Syrian people are tired of suffering, oppression, and war.”

Erdogan also accused Israel of “directly threatening the stability of the region (…) with its attacks on Lebanon and Syria.”

Turkey is one of the largest supporters of the new Syrian authorities. This new influence of Ankara in Syria has raised concerns in Israel.

Transitional Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara also participated in the diplomatic forum in Antalya and held a bilateral meeting with Erdogan.

The Turkish president assured al-Shara that his country would continue, in particular, its “diplomatic efforts to lift international sanctions on Syria” and emphasized the “necessity” of “reviving trade and economic cooperation” between the two countries, according to a statement from the Turkish Presidency Communications Department on its website.

Turkish-Israeli Talks

Erdogan‘s statements came two days after technical talks in Azerbaijan between Turkey and Israel aimed at preventing the risk of escalation between them in Syria.

However, the two regional powers have faced difficulties in reaching an agreement, as Wednesday’s meeting did not yield any concrete understandings.

According to a well-informed Syrian source, Ankara is attempting to establish “military sites” in Syria, including “inside the T-4 airbase” in Homs province, which was targeted by Israeli strikes last week.

For its part, the Israeli military aims to push Syrian forces away from its borders. Last week, Israel intensified its deadly airstrikes in Syria and carried out a ground invasion in the south of the country, targeting bases and a military airport.

Researcher at the “Century International” think tank, Aron Lund, believes that Israel and Turkey’s interests “are not necessarily in conflict” in Syria. However, the two countries have “many other disagreements, the most important of which is the Palestine issue,” leading him to think that reaching a real agreement is highly unlikely.

Erdogan condemns Israeli “barbaric” behavior towards Gaza

On Friday, Turkish President Erdogan condemned Israel’s “barbaric” behavior towards Gaza.

During the diplomatic forum in Antalya, Erdogan said, “This morning, ten people, including seven children from the same family, were martyred in Khan Younis. If this isn’t barbarism, what is?”

In response to the war in Gaza, Turkey suspended its trade relations with Israel.

Aron Lund said, “Let’s hope that the discussions regarding the Syrian issue at least allow for finding ways to coexist and manage tensions between them in some way, without it deteriorating into something destabilizing, because that could also happen.”