Shafaq News- Damascus

Mossad chief Roman Gofman spoke by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on August 14 to discuss Turkiye’s military presence in Syria, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

The call came days before Israel carried out airstrikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase in the country’s northwest on Tuesday. The strikes targeted the runway and storage areas, with no casualties reported.

According to Reuters, the conversation marked one of the highest-level contacts between Israel and Syria’s new government since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The sources noted that Turkish military support for Syria was the main focus of Gofman’s call with Shaibani four days earlier.

One of the sources said the call centered on “Israeli inquiries about what (Turkiye) was doing in terms of increasing their military presence, as well as the sale of weapons, provision of drones and other issues.” A second source, a senior official, said Gofman used the call to ask about Ankara’s provision of arms to Syria’s army.

A third source familiar with the matter also confirmed the conversation, adding that the two discussed Türkiye’s military presence in Syria.

Following the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Damascus was on the verge of allowing Turkish troops to deploy in Syria and had ignored repeated Israeli warnings that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security.

Turkiye’s Defense Ministry declined to comment, while its Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.