3/12/2024–|Last updated: 12/3/202401:57 AM (Mecca time)
The last few hours have witnessed international and regional movements regarding developments in the situation in Syria after the sudden and rapid advance of the opposition factions and their control over large parts of northern Syria, including the city of Aleppo, the second largest Syrian city and the economic capital of the country. Amid calls to stop the escalation and fighting and return to the political track.
Regional and international communications have been active between regional and international capitals, especially Ankara, Tehran, and Moscow.
In the latest developments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Doha will likely host a meeting next week that includes Qatar, Iran, Turkey and Russia to discuss the situation in Syria within the framework of the Astana process.
This statement comes as the UN Security Council holds an emergency and open session on the situation in Syria on Tuesday.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern about the escalation in northwestern Syria, and called for an immediate halt to the fighting and a return to the political track.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric quoted Guterres as reminding the parties of the necessity of adhering to international law, and his urgent call to return to the political process in accordance with Resolution 2254 issued by the Security Council in 2015.
Guterres called on the parties to stop the violence immediately and to remain in contact with the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen.
For his part, Pedersen called on the main Syrian and international parties to participate in serious and objective negotiations to find a way out of the conflict and focus on the political solution in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254.
Last Wednesday, the Syrian armed opposition factions began a military attack called Operation “Deterring Aggression,” the largest in years, during which they took control of large areas and major cities and towns in the northwest of the country, including most of the city of Aleppo, including its international airport, and completed their control over the entire area of Idlib Governorate and dozens of areas. Villages and towns in the Hama countryside and 10 km from the city of Hama.
Calls for de-escalation
Meanwhile, the US State Department called on Iran and Russia to stop what it described as destabilizing behavior in Syria and the region.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that what the United States wants to see in Syria in the short term is a reduction in escalation and the protection of civilians. The spokesman added that what Washington wants to see in the long term is a political process in Syria that leads to an end to the war. Urging all countries to use their influence.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed that Washington was not surprised by the Syrian armed opposition exploiting the new conditions that the Syrian regime and its supporters are suffering from to achieve gains on the ground. Sullivan denied that American forces were a party to what is happening in Syria, indicating that Washington is monitoring the situation and is in contact with its partners in the region regarding this matter.
For its part, the European Union called on Monday “all parties to reduce the escalation” in Syria, and said in a statement, “We call on all parties to stop the escalation and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as the unhindered access of humanitarian aid.”
In a statement, European Union Foreign Affairs Spokesman Anwar al-Anouni condemned Russian air strikes on densely populated areas “and Russia’s continued support for the repression (perpetrated by) the Assad regime.”
Turkish comment
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is closely following developments in Syria, stressing that his country will not allow any movement in Syria that harms Turkish national security.
Erdogan renewed Ankara’s position in support of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and reaching an agreement that meets the legitimate demands of the Syrian people.
In this context, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that his country had warned more than once that the Syrian regime’s unwillingness to negotiate with its people and the legitimate opposition “will lead to the outbreak of the civil war in Syria again.”
Fidan added during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart in the Turkish capital, Ankara, that recent events demonstrated the necessity of the Syrian regime sitting down to reach an understanding with its people. Fidan stressed, “It is wrong at this stage to try to interpret these events in Syria as foreign intervention.”
A Turkish official also denied to Reuters yesterday, Monday, that Ankara had given permission or support for the attack carried out by Syrian opposition factions.
Iranian-Russian position
In the same press conference with his Turkish counterpart, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that what is happening in Syria is the result of what he described as a Zionist-American plan in order to divert attention from the metaphor and actions of the occupation taking place in Gaza.
Commenting on the developments in Syria, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that those he described as terrorists should never again be allowed to ignite wars in the region, indicating that Tehran seeks to limit this diplomatically, and added that his country will do everything in its power to combat terrorism and achieve stability in the region. .
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said yesterday, Monday, during a call with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, that the attack in the north of the country is an attempt “to divide the region, fragment its countries, and redraw the maps again.”
He stressed, according to a statement by the Syrian presidency, that “the escalation will only increase Syria and its army’s insistence on more confrontation.”
Pezeshkian pledged to Assad to continue providing support, and said, “We hope, thanks to your ingenuity, strength, and steadfastness, that Syria will be able to overcome this stage successfully and victoriously.”
Also, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Pezeshkian pledged to provide “unconditional support” to Assad.
According to the Kremlin, the two presidents also stressed “the importance of coordinating efforts with the participation of Türkiye,” which is militarily present in northern Syria.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei confirmed that the presence of Iranian advisors in Syria “existed in the past and will continue in the future,” according to what the Syrian government requests.