Turkey’s acknowledgement to completely withdraw its troops from Syrian territories cornerstone of any discussion, Sousan

Astana, SANA- Assistant Foreign Ministers of Syria, Iran, Russia and Turkey held talks Tuesday in the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana under the 20^th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format.

Upon participating in the meeting, Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Ayman Sousan, underlined that any effective results that may come out in the Astana process must be based on Turkey’s acknowledgement to completely withdraw its troops from the Syrian territories on a specific schedule and concrete steps and to start this actual withdrawal.

 “That form the cornerstone for any discussion of other issues related to the return of refugees, fighting all forms of terrorism, and the relations between the two countries,” Sousan added.

He also clarified that the Turkish statements about Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity contradict with its continued occupation of Syrian territories, and violate international law and the most basic elements of relations between countries.

Kinda al-Mahmoud/ Mazen Eyon