Syria slams Turkey’s 'safe zone' as ‘blatant aggression’

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An official source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates confirmed that "Syria's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity will not be the subject of blackmail by the extremist US-backed Turkish regime and its Western allies, seeking cheap political gain at the expense of Syrian people and their territorial integrity."

The same source stressed "Syria's right, under international law, to confront any measures taken by Erdogan’s regime and its terrorist organizations," urging "all illegal foreign forces to leave Syrian territory."

“Establishing a so-called safe zone on Syrian territory is a shameful act of aggression and part of Erdogan's policy of ethnic and geographical cleansing in the occupied Syrian territories, which amounts to a crime against humanity," it added.

Syria "holds responsible every party that illegally operates outside the framework of the Syrian state and its institutions," the source said.

Furthermore, the source condemned the military operations in areas and villages in Syria's northeast conducted by Turkish occupation forces, which resulted in many civilian casualties not to mention the displacement of dozens of families.

On May 25, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a message to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council protesting Turkey's plans to establish a "safe zone" on Syrian soil. Syria considered the move "a form of aggression against Damascus."

Earlier, President Erdogan announced that the Turkish army intended to "launch counterterrorism operations on Turkey's borders [...] the decision about these operations will be taken seen."

Anakara, according to Erdogan, "will start taking new steps to complete the safe zone 30 km into Syrian soil" noting that the armed forces would prioritize the areas used to launch attacks on Turkish-occupied areas, as per his claims.

Erdogan has also stated that Turkey will veto NATO membership bids from countries that have imposed sanctions on Ankara. After Turkey's invasion of northern Syria in 2019, Sweden and Finland banned arms supplies to Turkey.

On his account, the Spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh has lately said in response to a question on Turkey's possible military operation in Syria that Iran opposes "any military action and the use of force on the territory of other countries in order to resolve disputes between them."

Khatibzadeh further added that Iran considers such military action to be "a violation of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of those countries," according to the Mehr News Agency.

It is worth mentioning that Turkey launched unilateral offensives in northern Syria in 2016 and 2018, respectively.