President Erdogan said Turkey wanted more help from Russia and Iran, but could fight “terrorist” organizations without needing any support.
Tehran, Iran – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed warnings that Ankara could launch a new military operation in northern Syria, as he met his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Tehran.
Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a Syria summit in the Iranian capital on Tuesday to resolve their differences.
Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years held talks as part of the so-called “Astana peace process” to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country.
Erdogan has said in recent months that he will soon launch a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters that Turkey considers “terrorists” in the towns of Tal Rifaat and Manbij. Located west of the Euphrates, the towns are controlled by the Syrian Kurdish armed group, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Ankara considers the YPG a “terrorist” group and claims it is linked to domestic armed fighters belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey has also designated as a “terrorist” organization. The PKK has waged an armed uprising against Turkey since 1984, and tens of thousands have died in the conflict.
The Turkish government has accused the YPG of attacking Turkish security forces in Syria.
Turkey wants more help from Russia and Iran but is able to continue its fight against “terrorist” organizations in Syria without needing any support, Erdogan said on Tuesday, reiterating his plan to establish a so-called “safe zone” of 30 km (18.5 miles). of Turkey’s southern border with Syria.
“You say you understand Turkey’s concerns and we thank you for that,” Erdogan said, addressing Putin and Raisi. “But words alone are not enough.”
Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned against such an operation and the Kremlin has already shown its opposition to a new Turkish incursion.
Both Putin and Raisi have expressed support for the Astana format as being effective in reducing violence and raising hopes for a diplomatic solution in Syria. They expressed their opposition to foreign intervention and the theft of the country’s oil and resources – a blow aimed at the United States.
“We stressed that the Syrian government must control all parts of the country. Therefore, there is no justification for the presence of Americans east of the Euphrates and they must leave this area,” Raisi said at a press conference after the summit.
The three leaders said they wanted to continue trying to solve the problems in Syria through dialogue and expressed their wish to help millions of displaced Syrian citizens, many of whom have migrated to Turkey.
“Syria’s future must be determined by the Syrians themselves and without any dictation from outside,” Putin said at the press conference, in words that were also echoed by Raisi.
Joint Statement
The three leaders, who also held bilateral talks on Tuesday ahead of the summit, later issued a joint statement containing their understandings on the future of Syria.
In the statement, they “expressed their determination to continue working together to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
However, they also “rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the guise of fighting terrorism” and pledged to maintain Syria’s sovereignty.
They further agreed that calm should be maintained in the previously negotiated “de-escalation” zone in and around Idlib.
Shortly after the UN extended cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria for six months, the leaders called on the UN and other stakeholders to increase aid “without discrimination, politicization and preconditions”.
The three presidents also condemned Israeli military attacks, including on civilian infrastructure in Syria, as “violating international law” and destabilizing the region.
They announced that the next trilateral meeting in Astana format will take place in Russia before the end of 2022.
The summit took place as Syrian state agency SANA reported that the country’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Tehran on Tuesday evening. Mekdad is due to meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday.
