Turkey needs to stop occupying Syrian territories and supporting certain groups in the country, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said at a press conference on Tuesday following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"We will not set any conditions, but the Turkish occupation must end on Syrian territory, the support for some groups must stop, [it is necessary] not to interfere in Syria's internal affairs," Mekdad said in response to a question about how he assesses the implementation of the agreements reached at the trilateral Tehran summit on Syria as well as the recent agreement of the Russian and Turkish presidents in Sochi on the matter.
According to the Arab foreign minister, Turkey must be urged to withdraw from Syria. "This is the only way for security and stability to return to Syria," Mekdad stressed.
Separately, he thanked Russian and Iranian presidents Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi for their positions on Syria. "We believe they played a fair, wise role in seeking non-interference [in the affairs of] certain countries and [showed] respect for Syria. The declaration that resulted from this meeting represents our interests," Mekdad said.
He also noted that there will be no peace in the Middle East "without the withdrawal of the US from Syria and without [ending] US support for some separatist organizations." The minister pointed out that such support provokes casualties among ordinary Syrian citizens, including children, women, and the elderly.
"There is an initiative, we very much ask that this be implemented practically, because on this basis Syria wants to continue the policy that preserves its integrity and sovereignty," Mekdad concluded.
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Based on materials from TASS