DAMASCUS (Xinhua) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry has condemned the Turkish decision to extend its troops’ deployment in Syria and Iraq for two more years, saying such practices threaten international peace and security, according to SANA news agency.
In a statement, the ministry stressed that the regional and international status quo can’t tolerate the practices of the Turkish government.
The ministry pointed out that the Turkish forces are launching military attacks on Syrian soil, which run against the UN Security Council resolutions that call for respecting the sovereignty and independence of the Syrian territories.
It further called on the international community to hold Turkey accountable for the “war crimes and aggression it committed against Syria.”
It also demanded compensation for all the losses caused by the Turkish military operations in Syria, which, it said, “left a hefty toll on civilians, the country’s infrastructures, private and public properties, natural resources, and the Syrian historical heritage.”
Meanwhile, SANA also reported a source at the foreign ministry slammed inaction of the Security Council in the face of the continued Turkish occupation of the Syrian territories, emphasizing that the UN silence has also allowed Erdogan to continue the occupation of the Syrian territories, impose demographic change, cut off water of the Euphrates River to civilians and support terrorist groups.
“Syria reserves its absolute right, based on the [UN] Charter and the international law, to defend its independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty over all of its land and take all practical and legal measures guaranteed by international legitimacy in order to repel the Turkish aggression,” the source said.
Since 2016, several Turkish cross-border incursions have taken place in northern Syria, targeting areas controlled by the Kurdish-led so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Turkish forces have also established military bases and observation points in the countryside of the northern province of Aleppo and the northwestern province of Idlib, with the help of local armed militants.
The Syrian government has for long demanded the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from Syria, saying such forces entered the country illegally without the consent of the Syrian government and supported militant groups against the Syrian government forces.