US envoy: Washington working to prevent Israel-Turkey-Syria clash
US Syria envoy Thomas Barak says Washington is establishing a mechanism to avert conflict between Israel, Turkey, and Syria after a recent Israeli airstrike.
Key Takeaways
AIUS Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barak said on Tuesday that the United States is working to establish a mechanism aimed at preventing a clash between Israel, Turkey, and Syria, following an Israeli airstrike on a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border.
Barak, who also serves as the US Ambassador to Turkey, explained that Ankara had not received prior notification of the Israeli strike, noting that Turkish authorities tracked Israeli aircraft as they headed north toward Turkish territory.
He added that this development could have logically prompted Turkey to prepare its own response, hinting at the possibility of a Turkish military reaction to Israel's actions.
Barak told Reuters in a phone interview: "Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and prevented the situation from escalating further."
The US envoy's comments come after Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria, amid rising tensions between the three parties.
