Syria had told Israel that it was not working with Turkey to build up a military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase prior to Tuesday's strikes against it , Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Axios on Wednesday.
According to Shaibani, "there was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site," Axios reported.
Shaibani also claimed that the airbase was "largely empty" at the time of the strikes, and that "linking the strike to a Turkish military presence at the base is not supported by the situation on the ground as it stood at the time."
US President Donald Trump told Axios that he had been briefed on the Israeli strikes against Syria, but declined to specify whether the briefing had come before or after the strikes occurred.
"I can't talk about it," Trump stated.
Earlier on Wednesday, three people familiar with the matter said that the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, held a phone call with Shaibani last week in which they discussed Turkey's military presence in Syria.
It marks one of the highest-level contacts yet between Israel and the new Syrian government since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2014.
Turkey, Syria condemn IDF attack on airbase
After Israel's bombing of the airbase, both Turkey and Syria rushed to condemn the attack.
Turkey's presidency said the "imputations" from Netanyahu's office stemmed from his intention to pursue "expansionist and destabilizing policies" ahead of elections in Israel, adding that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and abandoned its "aggressive and coercive policies."
Meanwhile, a Tuesday statement from Syria's Foreign Ministry said that the country "condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli airstrikes targeting Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib Governorate, and considers them an unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region."
Reuters and Esther Davis contributed to this report.