All news

Tehran hails Putin-Erdogan agreements on Syria

On October 22, the Russian and Turkish leaders signed a memorandum on joint action to resolve the situation in northeast Syria, which provides for Russian troops entry to the Turkish-Syrian border territory

TEHRAN, October 23. /TASS/. Iran has welcomed the agreement on Syria reached on Tuesday by Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi said on Wednesday.

"The agreement between Russia and Turkey and a ceasefire in north Syria is a positive step on a path to restoring stability and tranquility in the region," the press service for the Foreign Ministry quotes him as saying. Mousavi added, "Iran welcomes any action aimed at preserving territorial integrity and strengthening national sovereignty of Syria."

He voiced hope that "reaching these agreements will alleviate Turkey’s concerns about its security." "Iran views the Adana Agreement as a good basis to resolve problems existing between Turkey and Syria and, in this regard, [it] is willing to provide any assistance necessary to establish dialogue between Ankara and Damascus," he stressed.

On October 22, Russian and Turkish presidents held a meeting in Sochi where they signed a memorandum on joint action to resolve the situation in northeast Syria. In accordance with the agreements reached by Putin and Erdogan, on October 23, 2019, at noon Russian military police and Syrian border guards are to enter the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border, outside the area of Operation Peace Spring, to facilitate the removal of YPG (People’s Protection Units) elements and their weapons to the depth of 30 km from the Turkish-Syrian border, which should be finalized in 150 hours. When this time lapses, joint Russian-Turkish patrols will start in the west and the east of the area of Operation Peace Spring with a depth of 10 km, except Qamishli city.

In the memorandum, Moscow and Ankara also reaffirmed the importance of the 1998 Adana Agreement, which granted Turkey a right to carry out small-scale transborder operation against terrorists in Syria’s border adjacent areas.