According to Kurdistan Press, the United States is trying to create a mechanism to prevent conflict and misunderstanding between Turkey, Israel and Syria.

According to Reuters, Tom Barak, the US special representative for Syria and the country's ambassador to Turkey, provided details of these efforts in a telephone interview with Reuters after Israel attacked a Syrian air base near the Turkish border.Barak said Turkey had no prior knowledge of the Israeli strikes and could have reasonably prepared for a military response after seeing the jets move north and approach its territory. “Fortunately, people who exercised restraint were able to prevent the situation from getting worse,” he added.

Possible Turkish presence at Abu al-Dhuhur base

Turkey condemned the Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Dhuhur air base in northwestern Syria, but did not elaborate on the possibility of creating a mechanism to prevent conflict.

Barak said the Israeli attack was based on the perception that Turkey might increase its presence at the Abu al-Dhuhur base in the near future, a perception he said could be true or false.The US representative stated: “This incident highlights the need to create a mechanism to prevent conflict between Israel, Syria and Turkey. We are actively working to create such a mechanism to prevent possible future misunderstandings. The priority now is to reduce tensions and provide space for a more measured approach.”

The conflict prevention mechanism is a special communication channel that aims to prevent misunderstandings or unwanted confrontation between military and political actors.

Rising tensions between Turkey and Israel over Syria

Turkey and Israel both share a border with Syria, and tensions between them have increased in recent months over developments in the country.Ankara has become a key ally of the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, working with Damascus on training the army, rebuilding state institutions and infrastructure, and providing military and diplomatic support.

Abu al-Dhahur air base is located about 70 kilometers east of the Turkish border. The base has not been used as a dedicated airfield for military activities since 2013 and has been the subject of several clashes between former government forces and opposition groups during Syria’s civil war.

Syrian state TV Al-Ikhbariya quoted a military source as saying that Israel had carried out eight airstrikes on the base’s runway and storage facilities. Another military source and a resident of the area told Reuters that the attacks had caused no casualties.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes.Washington calls for broader mechanism

Israel has been bombing targets in Syria for years, saying the aim of these attacks is to counter Iranian influence and prevent weapons transfers to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2024, Israel has continued its military operations in the country, looking with skepticism at the new Syrian rulers.

Since the forces under the command of Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power, Syria and Israel have held several rounds of talks on reducing tensions and border issues, but have not yet reached an agreement.

Barak considered the recent attack a sign of the need to expand these talks, saying: “An incident like what happened today shows that these efforts must be intensified and the current process expanded."

According to him, the United States already facilitates information exchange and dialogue between the parties, but the existing mechanism needs a stronger structure and more resources.

The US representative added: "Investing in such mechanisms is much less expensive than resorting to military methods of communication, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars."