Tabnak – As the Turkish army has started its operation against Kurdish militant groups in north-western Syria, diplomatic efforts are still ongoing to bring different Syrian factions together for political talks. Meanwhile, there’s a growing concern about US plans in the war-torn country.
Turkish troops have started a second day of military strikes against US-backed Kurdish militants in Syria. The forces have been targeting the militants since Friday after putting up with two days of “harassment” by them, a military statement said, according to Reuters.
Turkey deployed troops to northern Syria in August 2016 without Damascus’ approval under the pretext of fighting the ISIS terror group. The operation, named Euphrates Shield, however, was later seen turning its focus on the Kurds, whom Turkey associates with anti-Ankara terrorists.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Russian President’s Special Envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentiev held talks on the latest developments in the war-ravaged Arab country.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing Syrian People’s Congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Jaberi Ansari and Lavrentiev exchanged views on the latest developments in Syria.
Jaberi Ansari started his trip to Russia on Friday to take part in trilateral talks between Tehran, Moscow, and Ankara about the peace process in Syria. The two sides also exchanged views on the latest arrangements and decisions made with respect to the peace talks in Sochi.
In another related development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lashed out at the US for undermining the territorial integrity of Syria through efforts to form “alternative bodies of authority” across the Middle Eastern country.
“The US [is] trying to form... alternative bodies of authority on vast... parts of the Syrian territory,” Lavrov said in a Friday news conference at the UN headquarters in New York. “That is a fact and that does contradict their own obligations... to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria,” he added.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said US troops would stay in Syria for the foreseeable future, adding that the US would not fund the reconstruction of any part of Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is in power.
Syria strongly condemned the US plan to maintain its military presence in the country as interference in its internal affairs and a blatant violation of international law.
Against the backdrop of the above-mentioned developments, the Syrian National Dialogue Congress is supposed to be held in Sochi on January 29-30 following a similar initiative by Russia, Iran and Turkey in Kazakhstan.
Many hope the talks could bring an end or significantly reduce the militancy in Syria, although the United Nations insists that the initiative should not circumvent efforts led by the world body for reaching a political solution in Syria.
