Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map
Ibrahim Kalin’s visit comes as Israel presses Syria on a buffer zone plan and Turkey frets over Kurdish autonomy.
The head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Ibrahim Kalin, has arrived in Damascus for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The meeting was expected to address bilateral and regional security issues, Anadolu said, citing unnamed security sources.
Why it matters: Kalin’s trip coincided with a planned meeting between Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in London to discuss security arrangements for a third round of US-mediated negotiations, according to Axios. The United States’ special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, was expected to take part in the discussions.
Israel is said to have conveyed a detailed blueprint for a new buffer zone, including a map from southwest Damascus leading to the Israeli border that would be declared a no-fly zone, Axios reported. The purpose would be, among other things, to provide Israel with an aerial corridor through which it can attack Iran, according to the Axios report that has not been officially confirmed.
