Iran Asks Turkey, Syria to Avoid Escalation of Tensions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian foreign ministry official called on Syria and Turkey to exercise restraint, and warned that the military approach will escalate tensions in the region.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian asked the two neighboring countries of Turkey and Syria to exercise restraint.
Military approach will only escalate tensions in the region, he cautioned.
Elsewhere, the Iranian foreign ministry official voiced Tehran and Ankara’s determination to continue their fight against terrorism.
He added that both Iran and Turkey support political solution to the Syrian conflict.
The call by the Iranian diplomat came after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that the country's air force shot down a Syrian aircraft for violating Turkish airspace, an action that Syria denounced as "unprecedented and unjustifiable".
The incident happened on Sunday, with the plane crashing near the Syrian town of Kasab on the Turkish border after it was targeted by F16s.
The Syrian state news agency SANA reported the foreign ministry as protesting against Turkish "interference" in the province of Latakia, which has witnessed heavy fighting in recent days.
In a statement the foreign ministry said Turkey's "flagrant aggression against Syrian sovereignty in the Kasab border region over the past two days proves its implication in the events in Syria".
