Turkish-Syrian military exercises 'worrying'

Mon Apr 27, 7:04 am ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Monday described the first joint military exercise between top ally Turkey and arch-foe Syria as a "worrying" development.

"The military manoeuvres are a worrying development, but the strategic ties uniting Israel and Turkey will prevail," Barak said referring to the first of its kind drill that Turkey was to hold with Syria this week.

Non-Arab and secular Turkey is one of Israel's rare allies in the Muslim world, with the two countries signing a military cooperation accord in 1996, much to the anger of Arab countries and Iran.

Syria is one of the Jewish state's top foes, and the two countries remain in a technical state of war since 1948.

Turkey had hosted indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria last year, but the efforts were suspended following Israel's deadly offensive on Gaza in December-January.