ISTANBUL, December 18. /TASS/. All terrorist groups operating in Syria must be eliminated, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a phone call with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

"President Erdogan said that Syria has entered a period when its people will decide about the future of their country. And it is vital to eliminate all terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (outlawed in Turkey - TASS) and Islamic State (outlawed in Russia - TASS) in order to defend its territorial integrity," Erdogan’s office said.

Erdogan told Nehammer that Syrian refugees begin to return to their homeland and noted that this process will depend on living conditions in that country.

"President Erdogan also stated that support from the international community is needed to recover Syria and its infrastructure destroyed as a result of the civil war," it added.

Armed opposition units in Syria launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates in late November. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while President Bashar Assad stepped down and fled the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib governorate, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government, saying that the transitional period will last until March 1, 2025. According to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran has convincing evidence that the developments in Syria were orchestrated by the United States and Israel with support from a "neighboring country.".