Turkish navy ships visited Syria’s Mediterranean port of Latakia on Monday, marking the first such port call since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, according to Turkey’s defense ministry.
Turkish Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu was aboard the TCG İstanbul, one of the vessels participating in the visit, the ministry said, without identifying the other ships or disclosing the purpose or planned duration of the visit.
The ministry described the deployment as a port visit.
The visit represents a further expansion of military contacts between Ankara and Syria’s new government after more than a decade in which Turkey backed armed groups fighting then-president Bashar al-Assad and severed diplomatic relations with Damascus.
Assad was ousted by rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024. Turkey subsequently established close ties with the new authorities and offered to help train and restructure Syria’s armed forces.
Ankara and Damascus have also discussed a broader defense agreement, including cooperation on air defense and the possible use of Syrian military facilities by Turkey, although no final agreement has been announced.
The appearance of Turkish warships at Latakia also carries wider strategic significance. The port lies near Russia’s Hmeimim air base, while Moscow operates a naval facility farther south at Tartus. Russia and Syria’s new government have been negotiating the future of those installations since Assad’s removal.
The TCG İstanbul, commissioned in 2024, is the first vessel in Turkey’s domestically designed İstanbul-class frigate program.