RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told Axios Wednesday that he made clear to Israel his government wasn't working with Turkey to amass a military presence at a Syrian airbase — but Israel went ahead and attacked the site anyway.
Why it matters: The early Tuesday morning strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase has heightened tensions among three close U.S. partners in the region, just as the Trump administration is trying to prevent further escalation.
What they're saying: "[T]here was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site," Al-Shaibani said in one of eight written responses to questions from Axios.
Meanwhile, President Trump told Axios in a phone call Wednesday that he'd been briefed on the Israeli strike, but did not criticize it. "I can't talk about it," he said. He declined to say whether his briefing came before or after the strike.
Driving the news: Israel dropped at least eight bombs on runways and hangars at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, about 45 miles from the Turkish border.
The strike damaged the runways, which had recently been rebuilt. There were no casualties.
Israel told the Trump administration the strike was aimed at preventing a Turkish military buildup at the airbase, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
In a video posted on X Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel warned Syria ahead of the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base.
"Our message was very clear: Don't. I guess they didn't quite understand the message," he said.
Zoom in: But Al-Shaibani said Israel had no legitimate justification for the bombing.
He said the work under way at the Abu al-Duhur airbase "was limited to rehabilitating the airfield and its facilities that were damaged during the war," for the use of the Syrian Air Force.
"There was no Turkish military build-up at the base in any sense that would justify such an interpretation," he wrote. "The base was, in fact, largely empty. It had not yet been fully rehabilitated or become fully operational, and the work there was still at the rehabilitation stage.
"Therefore, linking the strike to a Turkish military presence at the base is not supported by the situation on the ground as it stood at the time," he added.
Al-Shaibani acknowledged that Turkish military officers visited the base several days before the Israeli strike but stressed it was part of "ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and the exchange of expertise."
"Syria is currently working to rebuild its military and civilian institutions and develop their capabilities. It therefore benefits from cooperation and training programmes with a number of countries, not Turkey alone. Similar cooperation has taken place and continues with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Russia," he wrote.
"Syria is a sovereign state, and it has the right to establish relations of cooperation and alliance with any country, including Turkey", he added.
Behind the scenes: Al-Shaibani said Syria and Israel were in touch in the days leading up to the Israeli strike. Syrian officials described the construction underway at the site and "made clear the base is Syrian and will remain under Syrian sovereignty and control," he said, adding that no permanent Turkish presence was planned.
"The nature of the activity at the base was known, and there was no basis for interpreting the rehabilitation work as the establishment of a Turkish military site on Syrian territory," he wrote.
The Syrian foreign minister also said he was in contact with the Trump administration both before and after the strike. "The primary objective was to convey our position and concerns and to work to prevent escalation," he said.
"We made clear to the U.S. that we do not trust Israel's intentions towards Syria, and that we believe current Israeli policy, including its military escalation and actions on the ground, does not contribute to stability in Syria or the region," Al-Shaibani said.
After the Israeli strike, he said, the Syrian government reached out to the Trump administration as well as to a number of other countries to protest. Syria also wanted to "contain the repercussions of the strike and prevent its recurrence."
"We wanted to clarify the Syrian position, and emphasise the need to respect Syria's sovereignty and not turn its territory into an arena for settling scores or expanding the regional conflict. We want de-escalation, because continued military tension in the region serves no party and does not help build the stability that Syria and the wider region need," Al-Shaibani wrote.
What's next: Al-Shaibani said the Syrian government are still interested in reaching an agreement with Israel to de-escalate on the border between the countries.
"But de-escalation cannot be the responsibility of one side alone. Israel must also reassess its policy towards Syria and recognise that continued military operations and attacks will not deliver long-term security, but will instead increase instability," he wrote.
"In principle, Syria does not close the door on negotiations. On the contrary, we believe that political and security solutions offer the most sustainable path towards stability."
Al-Shaibani said that Syria tried to reach a security deal with Israel over the course of a full year of negotiations mediated by the Trump administration. "We made significant progress and reached a formula for the security agreement that had been agreed on paper. Israel subsequently backed away from its commitments, however, and the agreed formula was not implemented on the ground."
A significant number of Israel's security concerns were taken into consideration during those negotiations, he wrote. "But security cannot be one-sided. Just as we take Israeli security concerns into account, Israel must also take Syrian security concerns into account and seriously address our con...
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