Türkiye is moving rapidly to bolster its military cooperation with Damascus as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks parliamentary authorization to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in Syria for another three years.
Erdogan argued that the new Syrian administration needs support to confront “terrorist and separatist” organizations – a reference to Kurdish forces.
The acceleration follows the signing of a military cooperation memorandum between the defense ministers of Türkiye and Syria in Ankara on August 13.
On Friday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on X that Lieutenant General Ilkay Altindag, the ministry’s director general of defense and security, led a delegation to Damascus for talks with Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra on defense and security matters.
The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed the discussions addressed issues of mutual concern.
The visit came just days after a high-level meeting in Ankara on October 12 that brought together the foreign and defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of both countries.
The talks, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, with the participation of Defense Ministers Yasar Guler and Murhaf Abu Qasra, and intelligence chiefs Ibrahim Kalin and Hussein Al-Salama, focused on integrating the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syrian state institutions, in line with an agreement signed in Damascus on March 10.
Discussions also covered Syrian government efforts to combat ISIS, emptying prisons and camps under SDF control, coordination with neighboring countries, and the impact of Israeli violations in southern Syria on stability efforts. The meeting reviewed progress in implementing the August defense cooperation memorandum.
Abu Qasra described the talks as “an important new step” toward deeper military coordination between the two countries.
This was the second meeting of its kind since January, amid a series of reciprocal visits between military officials from both sides. Since the signing of the August memorandum, Syrian defense delegations have visited Türkiye twice for training and cooperation talks.
Ankara has repeatedly declared its support for President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s government, particularly in countering terrorist groups ranging from ISIS to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF.
Erdogan warned this week that if the SDF does not implement the integration agreement with Damascus, it would face consequences.
He urged the group to merge with state institutions “as soon as possible,” calling it a crucial step for Syria’s stability and development.
The warning followed SDF commander Mazloum Abdi’s announcement last week that a “preliminary understanding” had been reached with Damascus to integrate his forces into the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
He said the deal, mediated by the United States and France, aims to secure Kurdish rights within a decentralized system.
A Turkish senior military official said Ankara continues to enhance coordination with Damascus to strengthen Syria’s security capabilities and monitor the integration process closely. Türkiye has also pledged to provide military and logistical equipment to help rebuild Syrian defense capacity under the principle of “one state, one army.”
According to Bloomberg, Türkiye plans to supply Damascus with armored vehicles, drones, artillery, rockets, and air defense systems in the coming weeks to help confront Kurdish forces and secure the border.
The equipment will be deployed in northern Syria to avoid escalating tensions with Israel in the southwest.
