Iran’s supreme leader: Turkey’s offensive to Syria will be detrimental

Iran’s supreme leader: Turkey’s offensive to Syria will be detrimental
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his meeting with Erdogan that a military incursion into Syria will harm Turkey and the region

A potential Turkish military operation in northern Syria will harm Turkey and the region, Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khameni told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. 

The two leaders met in Tehran on the sidelines of a trilateral summit between Russia, Iran and Turkey as part of "Astana Peace Process" where later today President Erdogan will meet President Vladimir Putin and President Ebrahim Raisi. 

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month threatened to invade northern Syria to create a 30 km deep safe zone and push YPG (People’s Protection Units) down south. Turkey views YPG as an offshoot of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and claims it is a security threat along its southern borders. 

"This is definitely detrimental to Syria, Turkey, and the region, and it will not achieve the expected political results" Khamenei said, according to a statement posted on his official website.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey have taken opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, with Tehran and Moscow backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Ankara backing rebel militias in Syria's north.

Iran has previously warned that any kind of military operation in northern Syria "will cause regional instability."

Before his meeting with Khamenei, Erdogan and Raisi discussed other areas to enhance bilateral relations.

Erdogan said he believed that the countries will increase the bilateral trade volume to $30 billion.

"Unfortunately, we faced a serious setback due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of now, we have reached $7.5 billion. I believe that the two countries will reach $30 billion again” anatolian agency reported.