Turkey keeps troops in Iraq and Syria until guaranteed regional security

A Turkey will maintain its troops in Syria and Iraq until the security of its territory is fully guaranteed, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler said in an interview with the AFP news agency.

“ We will maintain our military presence in Iraq and Syria,” he said in the written interview.

Without revealing details about the units deployed, Güler argued about the need to continue the anti-terrorist struggle and ensure border security.

“ When we assess that the necessary conditions have been met in terms of regional and border security, the status of our mobilization areas and our presence in the region will be re-examined,” he said, without specifying the number of military personnel involved.

However, according to an Iraqi security source, the contingent in Iraq would be 800 to 1,000 soldiers. As for Syria, the number was 16,000 to 18,000 at the time of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime at the end of 2024, according to Turkish sources at the time. No more recent reliable estimates are available.

“ It would not be right to evaluate our military presence in Iraq and Syria only on the basis of our staff,” the minister argued.

“The structure of our forces and our position on the ground are defined (...) according to the evolution of the terrorist threat, the security of our borders, developments on the ground and cooperation with the countries involved,” he said.

After the end of Bashar al-Assad's regime, relations between Ankara and Damascus entered a new era. The two neighbours became allies and work on a “comprehensive strategic document”, according to the words of Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani.

“close coordination has been established in the field of security”, in particular with regard to capacity building and training, Yasar Güler explained.

Turkish sources also mentioned discussions to define the future “legal status” of Ankara’s troops across the border. The minister refused to detail these “deployment plans or bases that were not made public”.

However, according to Güler, “since the terrorist threat in the region is completely eliminated, the border security ensured and the State authority fully and uniformly established throughout the Syrian territory, without exception, the status of our forces will be reassessed.”.

Further east, the issue of Turkish presence in Iraq is closely linked to the peace process begun in 2024 with the Kurdish rebellion.

Ankara's intelligence services recently confirmed that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) abandoned four bases in northern Iraq, an important step in the process.

This “does not mean that security measures have been eased,” the Turkish minister warned.

“ Our armed forces and security units continue to closely monitor deployments on the ground,” Güler said.

At the same time, Ankara notes “the initiatives of the Iraqi Central Government to disarm the militias and put them under state control”. In addition, the Turkish Defense Minister mentioned contacts aimed at ‘lifting military and security cooperation to a higher level’ between the two countries.

According to the Turkish minister, Turkey intends to “support the Iraqi armed forces (...) in developing their military capabilities, in sharing experiences (...) in counterterrorism, training and cooperation in the defence industry”.

Yasar Güler also stressed that for Turkey national security is intrinsically linked to regional stability.

“Our fight against terrorism continues, without concessions, for the security of our country, as well as for the peace and stability of our region,” the Turkish minister said.