Exclusive: According to insiders, Erdogan and Syria’s Sharaa will talk about a defense deal

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, are scheduled to meet in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss a combined defense agreement that would include training Syria’s new army and setting up Turkish airbases in central Syria, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Syria’s armed and political opposition to its overthrown leader, Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in late December by a rapid onslaught led by Sharaa’s troops, has long been supported by NATO member Turkey.

By stepping in to fill the void left by Assad’s primary regional supporter, Iran, Ankara is putting itself in a position to play a significant role in the new Syria. This growth of Turkish influence might lead to rivalry with Gulf Arab nations and unnerve Israel.

A senior regional intelligence officer, two foreign security sources located in Damascus, and a Syrian security official all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to discuss the discussion with the media.

For the first time, specifics of any strategic military plan by Syria’s new authorities have surfaced, including information on more Turkish outposts.

According to the sources, Turkey may utilize Syrian airspace for military objectives, build new air bases in Syria, and play a vital role in assisting Syria’s new army with personnel training as part of the agreement.

The new government in Syria has disbanded the army and all of its opposition groups and is attempting to combine them under a single military command.

The agreement was not anticipated to be consummated on Tuesday, according to the sources.

Bases of Turkish Air in Syria

The negotiations would involve the establishment of two Turkish outposts in the Badiyah, Syria’s vast central desert region, according to the regional intelligence officer, the Syrian security official, and one of the international security sources based in Damascus.

Without naming the deployment sites, a Syrian presidential source told Reuters that Sharaa will talk with Erdogan about Turkey’s “training of the new Syrian army, as well as new areas of deployment and cooperation.”

The Syrian military ministry and Turkish president did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the matter.

Erdogan and Sharaa will talk about the most recent events in Syria and potential cooperative actions to restore Syria’s economy and attain peace and security, according to Fahrettin Altun, the director of communications for the Turkish president, as announced on Monday.

He did not have any information on Turkish bases in Syria or training for Syrian forces as part of a potential military agreement, a Turkish defense ministry official involved with the discussions between the two defense ministries told Reuters.

The role of air defense in Turkey

The sites under negotiation would enable Turkey to protect Syria’s air space in the event of any further assaults, according to the Syrian security official, the senior regional intelligence officer, and one of the foreign security sources based in Damascus.

Russia, Assad’s other principal supporter, is also in negotiations with the new Damascus government on the future of its two Syrian military installations, an air base close to the coastal city of Latakia and a navy facility in Tartous, the Kremlin said Monday.

Murhaf Abu Qasra, Syria’s defense minister, told Reuters in January that the country’s new leaders will want to establish close regional relations, “and that through these ties, we will be able to build our military force well.”

Abu Qasra stated, without referring to Turkey, that if these connections result in a collaboration “on arming, training, air defense or other issues – we would welcome it.”

The Syrian army’s T4 camp in the province of Homs and the Palmyra military airport were the two potential sites for the airfield, according to the regional intelligence officer.

COMMENT TO THE KURDISH FIGHTERS

As a message to Kurdish militants in northeast Syria known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the official claimed Ankara was eager to establish bases there.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting the Turkish government since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by both Turkey and the United States, is seen by Ankara as an extension of the party.

A military attack against the YPG has been threatened by Turkey, but it has refrained while negotiations to determine the destiny of the Kurdish troops are in progress.

Officials from the Turkish defense ministry told Reuters that last week, military teams from Syria and Turkey discussed “what can be done in defense and security matters, especially in the joint fight against terrorist organizations that pose a threat to both Syria and Turkey.”

“Our meetings will continue within the framework of the needs that will occur in coming period,” the official continued.

In December, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler declared that Turkey was “prepared to offer the required assistance if the new (Syrian) government asked for it.”

Guler stated at the time that Ankara may speak with the new Syrian government and reexamine the matter of Turkey’s military deployment in Syria “when necessary, conditions arise.”