By Anadolu Agency
September 16, 2026 6:40 amANKARA
ANKARA (AA) – Israel currently poses the greatest potential threat to Syria’s stability, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this week during a visit to Damascus.
As developments in Syria moves in a positive direction, Israel takes “destabilizing actions,” Fidan told Turkish journalists on Monday during his visit.
“Extremely critical developments are taking place in our region. During this process, we are increasing our contacts with Syria. We wanted to pay a two-day visit here. We have many issues to discuss,” he said.
He said the overnight visit was also an indication that life in Syria is beginning to return to normal.
“We had a meeting with President (Ahmad) Sharaa that lasted about two hours. We discussed all issues,” said Fidan.
“The threat with the greatest potential to destabilize Syria at the moment is Israel. Thankfully, other issues concerning Syria have been moving in a positive direction for the past two years. They have been removed from the sanctions list, and there are no obstacles to economic investment. Their removal from the terrorism list was also extremely important.”
Fidan said that Syria needs time and has significant potential if stability is accompanied by good governance.
“But Israel doesn’t particularly like neighboring countries being strong and stable. It sees this as a threat to itself. Because of how it defines this threat, it engages in destabilizing actions against these countries,” he said.
“Syria, however, wants to live in peace in its region. At some point, Israel will either recognize this approach and accept living in peace with its region, or it will continue these aggressive policies and become even more isolated within the international community.”
“Netanyahu sees all the countries around Israel as threats. Israel is a country that derives its own strength from the weakness of those countries,” Fidan added.
Fidan said the first priority for Syria is for the SDF group to cease being a threat, no longer be a hostile element.
“The elements announced in principle currently contain positive messages. We are closely following how the process proceeds in practice. We expect implementation to be consistent with the messages announced to the public,” he said.
Last month Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry welcomed the announced dissolution of the SDF group and its integration into Syrian state institutions, calling it an important development for preserving Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Fidan also said that the progress achieved so far could be taken further.
“We know the existing threats and the path that needs to be followed. There is an ongoing path. We must continue along this path of success. After the regime fell on Dec. 8, I said that everything had only just begun,” he said, referring to the end of the Assad regime in December 2024.
“At the point we have reached, positive things are happening both tactically and strategically. Many problems that have shackled us for 40 to 50 years, particularly the issue of terrorism, essentially originated from Syria and Iraq.”
Fidan said that after Türkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party came to power, Ankara, under the will and vision set out by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed its domestic political and economic issues while rebuilding its strategic and security culture in terms of external developments.
“We established a security paradigm that responds to today’s needs. We managed to appropriately resolve our problems originating from neighboring countries. However, our work on this issue is not finished. We will continue to work and make efforts,” he added.
Fidan said that the joint efforts of regional countries, particularly on Gaza, have produced important results.
“We have analyzed developments in a highly professional manner through cooperation and solidarity. We also used our cooperation there in Syria. Now we are using this cooperation in the Iran-US war as well, and we are increasingly institutionalizing it.”
“We are making an effort based on cooperation and peaceful diplomacy in the face of Israel’s destabilizing role in the region. God willing, the seed we have planted in the region will sprout and grow. If this constructive understanding grows, a larger zone of stability will emerge.”
Fidan cautioned, however, that actors seeking instability in the region, particularly Israel, could take other steps.
“They will not remain idle; they will also take action,” he said.
“But countries in the region see that stability is possible, that something can be achieved if we work together, and that there is no alternative to working together. Either we work together and solve the problems, or, as in the previous approach, we go to the hegemon or the hegemon’s representative here and say: ‘Don’t touch me, burn wherever you want.’”
“But every place that is set on fire eventually burns you too. Jordan, for example, is affected by everything that happens in Iraq and everything that happens in Syria. There’s no place to hide. So everyone is seeking cooperation in this very intense new period.”
Fidan said that Erdogan’s efforts to set out a vision, demonstrate leadership, and use his relationships to bring actors together had generated confidence in the process.
“Since this is something that has not been seen before, people frankly trust this process,” he said.
Fidan also said that efforts to institutionalize the new Mecca Alliance are continuing, with the three countries that formed the group last month – Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan – holding talks at the technical level.
“We are discussing issues such as what the structure of the headquarters will look like and how many people will serve in each unit. This process is about to be completed. Our aim is to expand the Mecca Alliance. The steps to be taken from now on will be more concrete,” he said.
Fidan said that attacks on Saudi Arabia from either the south or the north, including attacks by actors based in Iraq, are unacceptable.
On the long-standing conflict in Yemen, and military moves by the Houthi group there, he said: “The Yemen issue has existed for quite some time and has taken various forms. When the situation turns into an effort to encircle (Saudi Arabia) from the north and south, destroy critical infrastructure, and harm not only Saudi Arabia but the region, it is impossible for anyone to remain indifferent.”
“We are acting in accordance with the spirit of the Mecca Alliance. We have already declared that we stand with the Saudis. We have also conveyed the necessary messages to the other relevant parties. We are acting in solidarity.”
Fidan said that Türkiye doesn’t want Greece to become “a plaything of those who want to destabilize the region and drag it into chaos.”
“We want to have good neighborly relations. There should be no misunderstandings, particularly over security. Both sides should prevent this,” he said.
On Greece’s move to militarize islands in the Aegean near Türkiye, in violation of long-established treaties, Fidan said: “We of course have very serious sensitivities over the militarization of certain islands. They know this; we have conveyed it (to them). The militarization of islands that have demilitarized status is a threat to us.”
Fidan also noted that Greece is in the runup to general elections next May, adding that opposition to Türkiye had historically been widespread in Greek politics.
“One of the issues which we are focusing on most closely is Greece’s efforts, contrary to its treaty obligations, concerning islands that have been placed under demilitarized status by international treaties and whose status must indisputably be preserved,” he said.
“This actually isn’t a new situation. It is an issue that has existed since the 1960s and constitutes an important dimension of the interconnected Aegean disputes. Türkiye has expressed the necessary response since the 1960s. We have issued warnings and objections to Greece through bilateral channels, stated our position when the issue was raised at NATO, and also brought the matter before the United Nations.”
Fidan called on Greece, “Türkiye’s neighbor and ally,” to fulfill its treaty obligations “in a more mature manner, consistent with the spirit of alliance.”
“With so many security challenges surrounding us, Greece should not add another one. We should continue, and further strengthen, the positive atmosphere and spirit we have recently established toward resolving our problems,” he said.
Fidan also said that talks concerning the S-400 air defense systems were continuing.
“Technical negotiations among all the relevant countries are continuing,” he said.
Visiting Türkiye this July for a NATO summit, US President Donald Trump made positive remarks on resolving the situation.
In 2019, the US suspended Türkiye from the F-35 program after objecting to its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system, claiming the system would endanger the fighter jets. Türkiye has consistently disputed those claims.
Trump has spoken of Türkiye getting the F-35s
Fidan said his recent visit to the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir showed that the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process has gained broad acceptance.
“We saw that the objective put forward by ‘Terror-Free Türkiye’ has been embraced. We met with numerous NGOs and people from different political viewpoints. The (PKK) group’s declaration that it would lay down its arms has created great satisfaction among the public,” he said.
“An understanding has now emerged that issues should be discussed without weapons. People want economic issues and development to come to the forefront. In our meetings, we discussed issues such as how the region’s industry can be developed, what steps should be taken on infrastructure, where border crossings are needed, and how trade with neighboring countries can be increased.”
Fidan said that there had already been no armed issue on the ground for five or six years, but permanently ending the matter would allow major investments to enter the region without fear.
“People particularly attach importance to the fact that the denial of (Kurdish) identity was eliminated under the AK Party,” he said.
“After the September 2013 Democratization Package paved the way for elective language courses in Türkiye, the issue of denial of identity, which had been a problem area for Kurds, was resolved.”
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