Turkey to help Syria with weapon systems, equipment under new accord, source says

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Free Syrian Army members are seen at a training camp in Azaz, Syria January 21, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA  -  Turkey will provide weapons systems and logistical tools to Syria under a military cooperation accord signed on Wednesday, a Turkish Defence Ministry source said, adding that Ankara would also train the Syrian army in using such equipment if needed.

Turkey, a NATO member, has been one of Syria's main foreign allies since the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad last year. It has vowed to help train and restructure Syria's armed forces, rebuild the country and its institutions, and support efforts to protect Syrian territorial integrity.

In a first step towards a comprehensive military cooperation accord that they have been negotiating for months, Turkey and Syria inked a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday after meetings between their foreign and defence ministers, and intelligence chiefs.

"The memorandum aims to coordinate, plan military training and cooperation, provide consultancy, information and experience sharing, ensure the procurement of military equipment, weapon systems, logistical materials and related services," the Turkish Defence Ministry source told reporters on Thursday.

Last month an official at the Turkish Defence Ministry told Reuters the Syrian army was in need of restructuring after years of conflict, citing shortcomings in discipline, training, organisation, and modernisation.

Turkey has been growing impatient with what it calls the lack of implementation of a March deal between Damascus and the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus.

Ankara has warned of military action against the SDF, which it considers a terrorist organisation and has targeted in past cross-border operations. It expects the Syrian government to address its security concerns but says it reserves the right to mount an offensive if needed.

'PROVOCATIVE AND SEPARATIST'

Turkey has also said that clashes between the SDF and Syrian government forces earlier this month and a conference held by the SDF calling for a review of Syria's constitutional declaration threatened the country's territorial integrity.

The Turkish Defence Ministry source said the SDF had not met any of the conditions of the March deal and reiterated Ankara's accusation that its "provocative and separatist" actions were undermining Syria's political unity. 

"Our expectation is full compliance with the agreement that was signed and its urgent implementation in the field," the source added.

Turkey still has troops stationed in northern Syria, where it controls swathes of land along their shared border after a series of military operations against the SDF in the past. 

The SDF, which Ankara views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, controls much of Syria's northeast. While the PKK has been engaged in a process of disbandment and disarmament, the YPG militia - spearheading the SDF - has said the decision to disband does not apply to it.

 (Reporting by Tuvan GumrukcuEditing by Ece Toksabay and Gareth Jones // REUTERS)