Syria says to hold military exercises with Turkey
After cancelation of Turkish military exercise with Israeli participation, Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib says Syria, Turkey 'agreed to do more comprehensive, bigger' joint exercise
Syria said on Tuesday it would hold military exercises with Turkey, shortly after Turkey canceled maneuvers with Israel. Ankara's decision, which was commended by Syria, revived fears of cooler relations between Israel and NATO member Turkey.
"We held our first joint land military exercise (with Turkey) last spring. And today we have agreed to do a more comprehensive, a bigger one," said Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib, speaking at a news conference.
Turkey, a secular Muslim country, has been a key ally of Israel, but ties have been strained over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's harsh criticism of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.
Both Turkey and Israel on Monday denied the cancellation of air force exercises scheduled for this week posed any threat to their long-standing bilateral ties and strategic interests.
In Washington, the US State Department on Tuesday objected to Turkey's last-minute decision to exclude Israel from the exercise.
"We think it's inappropriate for any nation to be removed from an exercise like this at the last minute," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.
But Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem commended Ankara canceling of the exercises, in comments made during a high-level meeting of Turkish and Syrian ministers.
"We extremely welcome that decision. This decision is based on Turkey's approach towards Israel and reflects the way Turkey regards the Israeli attack in Gaza," Mouallem told reporters in the Syrian city of Aleppo, where 10 Turkish ministers met 15 Syrian ministers to discuss energy and electricity projects.
Turkey denied any political motive behind the decision to "postpone" the exercise with Israel and called on Israel to display "common sense" in their statements.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday repeated Ankara's position that it had not singled out Israel as a political punishment but had decided to call off the international stage of the military exercises, which would have also included the United States, Italy and NATO.
But he told reporters in Aleppo: "Our sensitivity on Gaza, east Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque are there. If these sensitivities are taken into consideration the peace process would resume in the region."
