Syrian foreign minister to Axios: Israeli bombing of airbase was unjustified

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told Axios Wednesday that he made clear to Israel his government wasn't working with Turkey to amass a military presence at a Syrian airbase — but Israel went ahead and attacked the site anyway.Why it matters: The early Tuesday morning strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase has heightened tensions among three close U.S. partners in the region, just as the Trump administration is trying to prevent further escalation.What they're saying: "[T]here was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site," Al-Shaibani said in one of eight written responses to questions from Axios.Meanwhile, President Trump told Axios in a phone call Wednesday that he'd been briefed on the Israeli strike, but did not criticize it. "I can't talk about it," he said. He declined to say whether his briefing came before or after the strike. Driving the news: Israel dropped at least eight bombs on runways and hangars at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, about 45 miles from the Turkish border.The strike damaged the runways, which had recently been rebuilt. There were no casualties.Israel told the Trump administration the strike was aimed at preventing a Turkish military buildup at the airbase, U.S. and Israeli officials said.In a video posted on X Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel warned Syria ahead of the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base. "Our message was very clear: Don't. I guess they didn't quite understand the message," he said.Zoom in: But Al-Shaibani said Israel had no legitimate justification for the bombing.He said the work under way at the Abu al-Duhur airbase "was limited to rehabilitating the airfield and its facilities that were damaged during the war," for the use of the Syrian Air Force."There was no Turkish military build-up at the base in any sense that would justify such an interpretation," he wrote. "The base was, in fact, largely empty. It had not yet been fully rehabilitated or become fully operational, and the work there was still at the rehabilitation stage. "Therefore, linking the strike to a Turkish military presence at the base is not supported by the situation on the ground as it stood at the time," he added.Al-Shaibani acknowledged that Turkish military officers visited the base several days before the Israeli strike but stressed it was part of "ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and the exchange of expertise.""Syria is currently working to rebuild its military and civilian institutions and develop their capabilities. It therefore benefits from cooperation and training programmes with a number of countries, not Turkey alone. Similar cooperation has taken place and continues with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Russia," he wrote."Syria is a sovereign state, and it has the right to establish relations of cooperation and alliance with any country, inc