Turkey’s priority in Syria is achieving stability and security, and ridding the country of militants, but it is too early to talk about a pact that would see Ankara establish military bases there, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Turkey and the new Syrian administration were to discuss a joint defense pact during talks between their presidents this week, including establishing two Turkish airbases in Syria and training for its new army.

Asked about the report, the source said a defense ministry delegation had travelled to Syria last week for talks and that both countries were in agreement about Syria’s territorial integrity, stability, and the need to clear it of all militants.

“Such stories in the press should be approached with caution and their contents must be read and understood correctly. It is too early to talk about these issues at the moment,” the source said.

“Work will be carried out to form a joint road map, in line with the new Syrian government’s demands, and to take concrete steps to improve the capacity of the Syrian army,” the person said, adding that the ministry told its counterparts it was ready to provide “all forms of support”.

NATO member Turkey, towards which Syria’s new administration is friendly, has long backed the armed and political opposition to oust leader Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December in an offensive led by new president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces.

The pact could see Turkey establish new air bases in Syria, use Syrian airspace for military purposes, and take a lead role in training troops in Syria’s new army, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a senior regional intelligence official, a Syrian security official and two Damascus-based foreign security sources.

Since al-Assad’s fall, Ankara has repeatedly called for Kurdish YPG militants in Syria to disband and for the new administration to address the issue, warning that it would mount a fresh cross-border offensive otherwise.

Turkey designates the YPG, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as terrorists linked to Kurdish PKK militants waging a decades-old insurgency on Turkish soil. The United States and European Union also consider the PKK a terrorist organization.