Al-Mikdad Calls for Withdrawal of Turkish Occupying Troops from Syrian Territories
TEHRAN, (ST)-Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal al-Mikdad has stressed that Syria rejects the aggressive procedures taken by Turkey in Idleb and other Syrian areas, calling for an immediate withdrawal of the occupying Turkish troops from Idleb and stressing that Turkey should respect Syria’s sovereignty as well as the decisions made in Astana meeting on Syrian settlement.
Al-Mikdad made the remarks during a press conference he held jointly with Ali Akbar Velayati, the top advisor of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran for International Affairs, following their meeting in Teharn on Wednesday.
He thanked the Iranian government, people and leadership for supporting Syria in the fight against terrorism, saying: “Iran’s support has played key role in achieving victory and foiling the schemes that serve the Zionist and American interests in the region.”
The deputy minister expressed Syria’s rejection to all attempts to divide Iraq and stressed solidarity with Iran against the US President Donald Trump’s anti-nuclear deal stances, pointing out that the American stance is unilateral and it shows that the US disrespects international agreements.
Both Velayati and al-Mikdad affirmed the joint clear-cut stance of the resistance axis on continuous cooperation and coordination in fighting terrorism and its supporters and in foiling all schemes targeting the independence and sovereignty of the region’s countries.
The axis of resistance is achieving successive victories on terrorism thanks to huge sacrifices and steadfastness in the face of all forms of conspiracies, the two sides underscored.
On his part, Velayati asserted that Iran will continue its strong support for the legitimate governments of Syria and Iraq and it will spare no effort as to block any attempt aiming to harm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries, noting that the US goals in Syria are doomed to failure as in Iraq.
Within the same context, al-Mikdad also held talks separately with Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Speaker of Iran’s Shura Council Ali Larijani.
The talks dealt with developments in Syria, the agenda of Astana 7 meeting, issues relating to the de-escalation zones and the need to continue cooperation and coordination in the fight against terrorism.
Hamda Mustafa