Illustrative image. (Anadolu Agency)
Turkey’s National Defense Ministry announced on July 13 that warships belonging to the Turkish Naval Forces Command visited Syria’s Latakia Port.
In a statement, the ministry said the visit marked the first by Turkish naval vessels to Latakia Port since the start of Syria’s civil war. Turkish Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu was aboard the TCG Istanbul frigate, one of the warships that took part in the visit, the ministry added.
Following the fall of the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad, Turkey emerged as the main ally of the Syrian Transitional Government, which was formed by the Islamist rebels it had backed for years. Ankara is now playing a leading role in rebuilding the country’s armed forces.
Reports from last year revealed Turkish plans to build a number of bases in Syria, including a naval base in Latakia. The military section of the port was hit by an Israeli strike shortly after Assad was ousted, and further strikes targeted the coast and Syria’s central region later in the year as part of Israel’s efforts to deny Turkey the chance to establish a military presence there.
Recently, however, there have been growing rumors, largely unconfirmed, of an increasing Turkish military presence along the Syrian coast.
Turkish forces reportedly moved into two former Syrian military installations in the southern Tartus countryside along the coast over the past week, according to rumors circulating last week — one near the town of Beit Al-Shanta, now fortified with earthen berms and vehicles bearing reconnaissance and possible signals-intelligence antennas, and another near the town of Al-Matahariyah.
Turkey’s growing presence on the Syrian coast fits into its wider push for influence over gas exploration and maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean. A foothold in Tartus and Latakia could give Ankara added leverage in waters it already contests with Greece and Cyprus, while also positioning it to challenge Israel’s role in the region.
This presence could also cause tensions with Russia, which continues to operate two military bases in both Latakia and Tartus.
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