Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived this Saturday July 2 in Syria, where Turkey threatens to launch an offensive in the north.
The visit of the head of Iranian diplomacy comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened since the end of May to carry out a new military operation against two localities in northern Syria, targeting Kurdish fighters whom he described as ” terrorists “.
Ankara wants to establish a buffer zone 30 kilometers wide to prevent the infiltration of Kurdish separatists into its territory. Damascus strongly opposed the establishment of such a zone in this part of the country which it lost control of during the war started in 2011. We understand Turkey’s concerns, but we are very strongly opposed to any military action. We are trying to resolve misunderstandings between Syria and Turkey through diplomacy said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
Military and Iranian support in Syria
The latter went last Monday to Ankara for discussions, in particular about Syria, recalls our correspondent in Tehran, Siavosh Ghazi. Iran supports the regime of President Bashar el-Assad, in particular by providing military and political aid to this country. “ Developing bilateral relations, consulting Bashar al-Assad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and senior Syrian officials, are the other objectives of my trip. added the Iranian minister.
In recent months, Tehran has further strengthened its military presence in Syria to the chagrin of Israel, which regularly carries out strikes against this country. Like Turkey, Iran fights Kurdish separatist groups, but defends the territorial integrity of Syria. Kurdish separatists control part of Syrian territory with the support of Western countries.