Exclusive-Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

By Samia Nakhoul

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria after repeated Israeli attacks on military sites there undermined the new government's ability to deter threats, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Friday.

In an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Fidan said Israel's actions in Syria - where the administration of President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a close Turkish ally - were paving the way for future regional instability.

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

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to a genocide against the Palestinians, and has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting all trade.

Israel denies the genocide accusations.

The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria for weeks since a new administration took control in Damascus. Turkey has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territories, while Israel has said it would not allow any hostile forces in Syria.

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of military strikes against Iran, Fidan said diplomacy was needed to resolve the dispute and that Ankara did not want to see any attack taking place against its neighbour Iran.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul; Writing and additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Gareth Jones)