BEIRUT, July 2 (Reuters) – Iran is working on a political solution to prevent a Turkish military operation in northern Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday during a visit to Damascus.
“We have expressed our readiness to promote a political solution,” he said during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Mokdad.
“We will deploy our efforts to prevent a military operation,” he added, adding that he had also spoken with the Turkish authorities on this subject.
Turkey has launched three military offensives in northern Syria since 2016, in order to neutralize fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG), considered by Ankara to be a terrorist organization because of their links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes no secret of his desire to launch a new operation. (Firas Makdesi report, written by Maya Gebeily, French version Sophie Louet)