Turkey’s Top General Assures Iran of Respect for Syria’s Territorial Integrity

Chief of the General Staff of Turkey General Hulusi Akar in a phone conversation with Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri on Sunday gave assurances that Ankara respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.


Akar, who initiated the phone call, told his Iranian counterpart that Turkey respected Syria’s territorial integrity and remains committed to agreements reached in trilateral talks with Iran and Russia on the situation in the Arab country.

He said the main reason for Turkey’s aerial bombardment, shelling and ground incursion into Afrin, Syria, over the weekend, was to counter the assembly of “terrorist groups” in the area and the threat they pose to Turkey’s border towns and villages.

The attacks were carried out by the Turkish army within the framework of the right to self-defense, he added.

Major General Baqeri, for his part, stressed the need for Syria’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity to remain intact and said Turkey ought to give assurances that it has no intention of undermining them.
 (Tasnim)
 21/1/18
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Related:

• Syria strongly condemns Turkish aggression on Afrin. International community to take steps to stop it immediately.

• The Syrian government also denied that Ankara informed Damascus of the operation, despite Turkish media reporting that such notification was forwarded "in writing," Syrian state media reported, citing an official source.