Ankara, Damascus top diplomats warn Israel over Syria action
Israel and Kurdish fighters should stop threatening the security and stability of Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday.
Speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war.
He said Israel had "fueled certain difficulties" in Syria and warned that Israeli security "cannot be achieved through undermining the security of your neighbors."
"To the contrary, you should make sure your neighboring countries are prosperous and secure. If you try to destabilize these countries, if you take steps to that end, this could trigger other crises in the region."
Since Islamist-led insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December, the new interim government in Damascus has struggled to maintain stability and heal the wounds of the nearly 14-year civil war.
Most recently, hundreds were killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side and fighters from the Druze minority on the other.
Meanwhile, tensions have also risen between the central government and the U.S.-allied SDF that controls northeastern Syria. Implementation of an agreement reached in March to merge the SDF with the new Syrian army has stalled and there have been scattered outbreaks of violence between the two sides.
Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakeh — which is under the SDF's control — and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism.
The Syrian government criticized the meeting, and alleged that among the attendees were some with secessionist ambitions. It said that as a result it long longer intends to join planned talks with the SDF in Paris that had been agreed upon in late July. No date had yet been set for the Paris talks.
Fidan accused the SDF of trying to turn instability in Syria into an "opportunity for themselves."
Ankara views the SDF with hostility as the group is spearheaded by the People's Protection Units, or YPG, affiliated with the Kurdish group that recently entered a peace process with Turkey after more than 40 years of fighting.
The SDF has said it is not party to the deal between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
"At this point, we are beginning to witness developments that we are finding increasingly difficult to tolerate," Fidan said. "The upper echelons of the YPG need to stop playing for time because the chaos they're waiting for (in Syria) will not take place, and even if it does, it will not be to their advantage." Fidan said.
He added: "They shouldn't take us for fools. We have good intentions, but that doesn't mean we will turn a blind eye to your mischievous or devious ways."
Turkey has been supportive of Syria's new administration, which is formed largely by rebels that Ankara backed during the civil war.
"Not every actor in the region is as constructive as us," Fidan said. "There are certain people who have been meddling in the affairs of Syria, chief among them the Israeli administration."
Al-Shibani, meanwhile, said Israel's actions "undermine the security of our citizens," adding that "certain countries want Syria to disintegrate based on ideologies, based on ethnicity, and obviously we are against all these efforts."
Source: Associated Press
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