Turkey talks with Israel about deconfliction in Syria when needed, foreign minister says

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has been holding technical talks with Israel for deconfliction in Syria when needed, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.

Fidan's remarks came a week after Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria, declaring the attacks a warning to the new government in Damascus as it accused Turkey of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

Turkish military teams had scoped out at least three air bases in Syria where they could deploy forces as part of a planned joint defence pact before Israel hit the sites with airstrikes, Reuters reported last week.

"While we are conducting certain operations in Syria, there needs to be a deconfliction mechanism with Israel, which flies aircraft in that region, similar to mechanisms we have with the U.S. and Russia," Fidan said on private broadcaster CNN Turk.

"There are technical contacts to prevent combat elements from misunderstanding each other," Fidan said, adding technical teams are contacting each other "when needed."

Fidan said technical talks with Israel are solely for deconfliction in Syria and do not aim at normalising relations.

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to a genocide against the Palestinians. It has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting trade.

Israel denies the genocide accusations.

Fidan last week told Reuters that Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, but repeated Israeli strikes on military facilities there are eroding the new government's ability to deter threats from enemies, including Islamic State.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Rod Nickel)