Iran Facilitating Turkey-Syria Rapprochement: Senior Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic is actively working towards a potential rapprochement between Syria and Turkey, aiming for the restoration of diplomatic relations that were severed almost 12 years ago.
Ali Asghar Khaji made the remark during a meeting with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz in the Kazakh capital city of Astana, on the sidelines of the 21st international summit on Syria under the Astana format.
Tehran and Ankara maintain strong and friendly relations, playing a significant role in establishing security across the region, according to Khaji. He emphasized that the respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is a common interest shared by both Iran and Turkey.
Khaji also criticized US support for Israel's war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip, stating, "Americans are the main party responsible for the massacre of residents of Gaza and persistence of the current situation."
Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Syria in March 2012, a year after the Arab country faced widespread violence from foreign-backed militants. The process of normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus began on December 28, 2022, marked by a high-level meeting in Moscow involving the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted three major ground operations against US-backed militants in northern Syria. The Turkish government accuses the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants of having ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Syria considers the Turkish presence on its soil illegal, asserting the right to defend its sovereignty against occupying forces. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad links rapprochement with Turkey to the end of Ankara's occupation of northern parts of the Arab country and its support for militant groups opposing the Damascus government.
