Türkiye to rebuild Syrian Military: Turkish officials confirm

It is reported that Türkiye will take an active role in restructuring the Syrian military.

According to the statement made by Ministry of National Defense sources, the proposal came from Syria and the first contact was established a week ago.

Ministry’s statement came after Syrian interim President Ahmed Shara’s Ankara visit on February 4.

Sources informed YetkinReport that on January 30, following instructions from Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, a five-person delegation headed by Major General İlkay Altındağ, Director General of Defense and Security at the ministry, including general-level representatives from the army, navy, and air force, traveled to Syria for preliminary discussions with Defense Minister Murhef Abu Kasra and his team.

This meeting was arranged during the January 15 Ankara talks between Syrian Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers and Intelligence Organization chiefs.

It’s noted that Major General Altındağ participated in a meeting with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) the day before these contacts.

Subsequently, during Shara’s visit to Ankara as President Tayyip Erdoğan’s guest, they agreed on a methodology for developing a joint roadmap.

Rebuilding the Syrian Military

According to Ministry of National Defense sources, a three-phase approach is planned for developing Turkish-Syrian military relations:

1- The immediate priority is to restore functionality to all state institutions in Syria. During this phase, Türkiye will provide comprehensive support – both technical and political – to help the new regime restore state operations across all sectors, not just military;

2- Simultaneously, Syria will assess its defense requirements and specify its requests from Türkiye. Defense sources emphasize their readiness to accommodate all Syrian requests, ranging from military training and advisory services to defense industry facilities and arms procurement. This includes potential requests for military unit support until Syria achieves self-sufficient defense capabilities.

3- Concurrently, the Ministry of National Defense will prepare a proposal package – to be presented upon request – addressing needs that the post-war regime might not immediately identify.

Türkiye will respond with specifics about what it can provide based on Syria’s requests, and together they will develop a joint roadmap for implementing collaborative projects.

Ankara is advocating for swift progression of this process.

Previous experience with Azerbaijan and Somalia

Should Türkiye’s role in restructuring the Syrian military be confirmed, it would mark their third such engagement, following Azerbaijan and Somalia.

Türkiye has been instrumental in rebuilding Azerbaijan’s military since its independence, including support during the 2020 Karabakh War when Azerbaijan reclaimed its occupied territories. Lieutenant General Bahtiyar Ersay, who headed the Turkish military delegation involved in Azerbaijan’s strategic and tactical planning, also serves as advisor to Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.

In Somalia, Brigadier General Sebahattin Kalkan leads Türkiye’s military delegation while serving as military advisor to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The partnership encompasses establishing a Military Academy to train Somali officers and providing training in Türkiye for counter-terrorism forces fighting Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s West African affiliate. As of February 2024, Türkiye committed to protecting Somalia’s territorial waters for a decade until Somalia develops its own naval capabilities.

Furthermore, approximately 5,000 Turkish troops are stationed at the joint Türkiye-Qatar base in Qatar. Defense sources indicate ongoing negotiations for a similar agreement to support Libya’s military restructuring.

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