Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy told the media during an Israeli Independence Day reception on April 28 that his country has been following the exercises closely to understand exactly what they entail. Levy's comment came following Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's criticism of the joint land exercises.
But Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, taking a question on the issue yesterday during the second long press conference he has called in less than 15 days, said in a rather tough tone: "We [the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)] are not interested in Israel's reaction. This is an exercise taking place between Turkey and Syria." He also explained that while they are small-scale exercises, they are important since they are the first of their kind conducted jointly by the neighboring countries.
Başbuğ's tone, however, hinted that he was nervous about the reaction of Israel, a country Turkey has close military and defense industry ties with even though relations have soured since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's standoff with Israel over the latter's assault on Gaza in January.
Gen. Başbuğ's remarks also carried a message to ease Israeli concerns, stating that the Turkish-Syrian small-scale land exercises are not directed against third parties.
The Turkish military's senior-level participation at the Israeli Independence Day reception in Ankara on April 28 also signaled that the TSK is not at odds with Israel.
According to a statement released by the Turkish General Staff last Monday, Turkish and Syrian border units are, for the first time, conducting unit exchange exercises, which are due to end today, to strengthen friendship, cooperation and confidence between the two countries. The aim is to improve the training and interoperability of the units of both countries. Parallel to this process, Turkey and Syria signed a defense industry cooperation agreement on the sidelines of the four-day 9th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF'09), due to end today in İstanbul.
Turkey's policy of establishing confidence with its neighbors is not new. Depending on the level of political relations, Turkey has created a more positive environment with its neighbors. The first steps to this end came in the early 1990s, soon after the demise of the Soviet Union, when Turkey signed confidence-building agreements with its former Cold War foes Romania and Bulgaria, with which it shares its northwestern border, while holding small-scale exercises with those countries, including the exchange of border units.
The Turkish military's joint land exercises with Syria are a reflection of the ongoing improvement of Turkey's political relations with its southern and eastern neighbors rather than any policy targeting third parties.
As a sign of the increased trust established between Turkey and Syria, Damascus responded positively several years ago to a Turkish request made on behalf of the US to stop shipping arms and sending people to Iraq to fight along with insurgents against US-led coalition forces.
This event, among many others which we do not know about, may also explain Syria's increased trust in Turkey, which perhaps made it possible for Israeli-Syrian peace talks to take place under Turkish mediation before they broke down following Turkey's reaction to Israel's Gaza assault.
Recent remarks made by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic daily published in London, that the closest Israel and Syria had come to a peace agreement was under Turkish mediation support the increased level of confidence reached between Ankara and Damascus.
Despite their ups and downs, ties between Turkey and Israel are irreversible and will continue to develop in the political, economic and military fields.
