Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday called on the government of Iran and Russia to fulfill their responsibilities as guarantor states in Syria.
“Iran and Russia should fulfill the responsibilities [as guarantor states] in Syria,” Cavusoglu said in remarks made at Anadolu Agency Editors’ Desk in Ankara.
His comment came in a reaction to recent attack of Bashar al-Assad regime on moderate opposition groups in northwestern Idlib city.
He noted that the Syrian regime forces were targeting the moderate opposition groups “on the pretext of fighting Al-Nusra terrorist group”.
“If you are the guarantors -- yes you are -- you should stop the regime. It's not just a simple airstrike. The regime is moving in Idlib. The intent here is different.”
Cavusoglu warned that such a move would undermine the peace process in Syria.
He underlined that Turkey is the guarantor of the moderate opposition.
The foreign minister added that it was not appropriate to bomb the whole city on the pretext that some terrorists are hiding there.
“If there is a terrorist organization there, these groups should be determined and their location should be determined. Careful operations should be carried out with intelligence from the ground or with the technology,” he added.
Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday had summoned Russian and Iranian ambassadors following Bashar al-Assad regime’s attacks in Syrian city of Idlib.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.