Russia, Turkey and Iran condemn Israel's actions in Syria

Russia, Turkey and Iran condemn Israel's actions in Syria
Russia, Turkey and Iran adopted a joint statement on Syria at the Astana format meeting. / bne IntelliNews: CC Kazakh Foreign Ministry
By bne Tehran bureau November 12, 2024

Russia, Turkey and Iran have adopted a joint statement on Syria at an Astana format meeting, condemning Israeli military actions in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, while calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon under Resolution 1701(2006). Their three countries took part in talks at the International Meeting on Syria hosted in Kazakhstan's Astana on November 11-12.

The trio of nations expressed concern about the Middle East conflict's negative impact on Syria. They condemned Israeli military strikes within Syrian territory, which have killed dozens in recent weeks and broken international law.

"[The sides] condemned all Israeli military strikes in Syria. [They] considered these actions as a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and recognised them as destabilising and exacerbating tensions in the region and called for the ceasing of these attacks," the statement said.

In addition, they reaffirmed their commitment to Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. The statement stressed the importance of restoring Turkish-Syrian relations based on mutual respect and “good-neighbourliness” to combat terrorism.

The countries also denounced the ongoing illegal seizure and transfer to Iraq of Syrian oil and other resources by US troops in the east of Syria, a situation which has been ongoing for several years since the previous Trump administration gave permission to extract and ship Syrian oil out of the country.

"We record attempts by third countries to use the regional tensions in order to further destabilise the situation in Syria. We fear that there may be an outbreak of violence in southern Syria," Tass reported Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev as saying on November 12.

Addressing humanitarian concerns, the three powers called on the international community, UN and humanitarian agencies to increase assistance to Syrians through early recovery and resilience-building projects.

The statement follows regular consultations between the three nations under the Astana format, established to discuss the Syrian peace process and regional security issues.

Israel has yet to officially comment on the tripartite announcement by the three regional powers. However, the country’s media did make note of the meeting without publishing the comments.

Ali Asghar Khaji, the senior advisor to the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, responsible for special political affairs and serving as Iran's chief negotiator, and Lavrentyev were part of the grouping of minister and officials.

Khaji condemned the assaults by the “Zionist regime” referring to Israel on Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, cautioning against their expansionist ambitions aimed at altering the regional power balance, Tehran Times previously reported.

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