January, 05, 2017- Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman described recent remarks by Turkish officials on Syria as “unconstructive”, urging Ankara to refrain from making the situation in the Arab country more complicated.
“Unconstructive remarks by Turkish officials will merely further complicate the current situation and add to problems in the way of a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” Bahram Qassemi said in a statement on Wednesday.
It came after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier on Wednesday called on Iran to exert pressure on Hezbollah fighters and the Syrian government to stop the alleged violations of a ceasefire in the Arab country, which he said were jeopardizing planned peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
The recent truce, which has been negotiated between Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Damascus government and the Syrian opposition, excludes groups deemed by the United Nations Security Council as terrorists. This rules out Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
The ceasefire will be followed by a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition in Astana.
Qassemi said that Iran, as a partner to the trilateral mechanism, attaches importance to the full implementation of the agreements and expects Turkish officials to avoid taking stances that go against their commitments.
The Iranian official added that militants in Syria have committed numerous instances of ceasefire violations, including 45 breaches in just 24 hours.
Qassemi urged Turkish officials to adopt necessary measures to deal with ceasefire violations by the militants if they seek a lasting truce in Syria and intend to contribute to the upcoming peace talks.
He went on to say that Iran would continue to employ all it has in power to help the ceasefire and facilitate a political solution to the crisis in the Arab country.
Source: Tasnim