Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian looks on during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart in Tehran, on July 20, 2022. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
TEHRAN – The Iranian foreign minister said that Tehran understands Türkiye's security concerns along the common border with Syria and is ready to provide any assistance to help "politically" resolve the problems between the two sides.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday evening, in which the two ministers discussed the latest developments and military clashes along the common border between Türkiye and Syria, Iran's ministry reported on its website Wednesday.
The Iranian top diplomat added that resorting to ground military operations not only fails to resolve the problems, but also causes damage and further complicates the situation
The Iranian top diplomat added that resorting to ground military operations not only fails to resolve the problems, but also causes damage and further complicates the situation.
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He stressed that Türkiye's security concerns must be removed through the continuation of security talks between Ankara and Damascus.
For his part, the Turkish foreign minister praised Iran for its constructive role, saying such consultations must continue between Ankara and Tehran.
Ankara blames the bomb attack at a bustling avenue in central Istanbul on Nov 13 that killed six and wounded scores on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group and its Syrian affiliate of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militant group, which is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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Türkiye on Tuesday hinted at the possibility of ground operations in northern Syria and Iraq.
"The time, scale and boundaries of the operations of the Turkish Armed Forces are determined by Ankara," Turkish presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday, adding Ankara coordinated its actions with Moscow during the air operation in the region.
Kalin also stressed that his country continues to maintain dialogue with Damascus.