Iran Describes Buffer Zone as Turkey’s Pretext to Deploy in Northern Syria
A senior Iranian lawmaker lashed out at the Ankara government for seeking a buffer zone in Northern Syria, saying Turkey is just seeking to stretch its power to a war-stricken neighbor.
“Turkey has proposed creation of a buffer zone in Northern Syria in a bid to confront the threats which are the outcome of its own tactical and strategic mistakes,” Rapporteur of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told FNA on Friday.
He underlined that Turkey has so far been the biggest supporter of the ISIL, but it is now trying to suppress the Kurds and disintegrate Northern Syria by showing that it is fighting the ISIL.
On Thursday, Iran’s foreign ministry voiced opposition to the creation of a buffer zone in Syria as violation of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by foreign states, and said such measures will further make the regional conditions critical.
“Creation of a buffer zone inside Syria is a violation of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian told FNA.
“Some solutions should be found so that the international rights are not violated,” he added.
“There is no need to make the regional conditions more critical with such unnecessary measures,” Amir Abdollahian said.
His remarks came after certain media reports claiming that the Turkish forces are ready for military intervention in Syria under the pretext of creating a buffer zone to protect the Turkish borders against the threat of the terrorist groups.
In October, Syria’s Foreign Ministry rejected foreign powers’ talk about imposing a buffer zone on Syrian soil.
“The Turkish attempts to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian soil is a flagrant violation to the charters of the UN and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that “Syria totally rejects the establishment of a buffer zone on any part of its terrain under any pretext and also rejects the foreign military intervention on its soil“.
The ministry stressed that the Syrian government would take all necessary measures to protect its national sovereignty and the unity of its territories after consulting with other countries.
The statement came as Turkey had been floating the idea of setting up a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the borders under many pretexts, mainly to solve the issue of the Syrian refugees on Turkish soil.
R.S