Azerbaijan to host Israel-Turkey meeting on Syria amid rising tensions

Israeli and Turkish officials are set to meet in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Thursday amid tensions between the two countries over Syria.

The meeting, which marks the third round of talks between the two countries, will see Israel present two key demands to Turkey about its presence in Syria, according to Israel's Channel 11.

The first demand is that no military force that can threaten Israel be stationed near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region of Syria, and the second is that no strategic weapons that could threaten Israel be present in Syria..

Azerbaijan is close to the Turkish and Israeli governments, both of which are major arms suppliers to the country, and has become a mediator in talks between the two countries over Syria.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Turkey has supported the new government of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, while Israel has launched ground incursions from the Golan Heights into the rest of Syria, while carrying out airstrikes against military sites.

This has resulted in greater tension between Israel and Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that his government would support Syria militarily if the two entered a defence pact.

Turkey has also mulled building new military bases in the country, while helping train Syria's nascent new army.

Israel, however, has told Turkey in previous meetings that the establishment of Turkish military bases in Palmyra, in central Syria, would be a "red line".

The two countries have also clashed over visions for the country, with Turkey being against any federalisation of Syria that could result in greater autonomy for the Kurdish-controlled north-east.

Israel, however, has openly stated its intention to partition Syria on sectarian and ethnic lines, while trying to position itself as a "protector" of Syria's Druze minority, who are mostly based in Suweida in the south, particularly after sectarian clashes between Druze fighters and pro-government militias last week.

Most Syrian Druze have rejected Israel's overtures, however, while affirming loyalty to Syria.