Iran says Turkey’s concerns in Syria can solved through dialogue
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Turkey’s security concerns in Syria “could be alleviated with dialogue rather than a military solution.”
Turkey, since July last year, has been threatening to launch another invasion of northern Syria, citing alleged security concerns on its southern border with Syria.
Kanaani made his remarks before his boss, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, travelled to Russia for a four-way meeting with his Syrian, Turkish, and Russian counterparts on mending Syrian-Turkish ties. The four ministers are scheduled to meet in Moscow on Wednesday.
Kanaani, told reporters in Tehran that the Iranian side is pushing to “bridge differences” between Syria and Turkey and help cement peace and stability in the region, according to Al-Monitor, a news website.
In March 2018, Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) occupied the Kurdish-majority region of Afrin as part of a military operation dubbed ‘Olive Branch’, which Turkey said would push the People’s Protection Units (YPG) from its borders under the pretext of protecting its ‘national security’.
Additionally, Turkey occupied Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad, in northeastern Syria, in 2019 following the so-called ‘Peace Spring’ operation.
Both invasions, which were carried out with the participation of Syrian opposition factions, also known as the SNA, caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands inhabitants and put the regions under joint Turkish-SNA occupation.