Turkey FM: Russia, Iran's support for Syria regime unacceptable

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday that Russia and Iran’s support for the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad is unacceptable for Ankara.

Cavusoglu added that his country has differences of opinion with Russia and Iran on this file, and that Turkiye had suspended its operations against the People’s Defence Units (YPG) in Syria as part of pledges made by the United States and Russia to cleanse the region of the group’s “terrorists”, but this has not been achieved.

“This has prompted the terrorists to continue their attacks against the Syrian opposition, Turkey’s soldiers and police, and on its lands as well,” he added. Turkiye deems the YPG as the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkiye. The US is, however, supporting the YPG in its efforts to fight terror groups in Syria.

READ: Erdogan ‘determined to eradicate hotbeds of terrorism in Syria’

The top diplomat stressed that “terrorist organisations carry out direct attacks against Turkey from Syria which leads to the martyrdom of soldiers and police and the killing of innocent civilians.”

“In such a case, the threat will continue as long as these terrorists are here. We can’t keep our hands tied, after all, we have not received permission from anyone in the operations we have carried out so far,” he added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently said that the file of the new military operation in northern Syria will remain on Ankara’s agenda until its national security concerns are dispelled.