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Iran FM Arrives in Damascus to Discuss Baghdad Regional Summit

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Damascus International Airport on Sunday. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Damascus International Airport on Sunday. (AFP)
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Iran FM Arrives in Damascus to Discuss Baghdad Regional Summit

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Damascus International Airport on Sunday. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Damascus International Airport on Sunday. (AFP)

Damascus has voiced its confidence that good relations with Tehran will continue under President Ebrahim Raisi with the Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad saying ties with its ally are on track to develop in the coming months.

Mekdad’s remarks were made upon the arrival of his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, at Damascus International Airport on Sunday.

Abdollahian’s visit is “important, not just because it’s his first, but because vital issues will be discussed,” said Mekdad, adding that he will tackle bilateral ties, international developments and regional issues with Tehran’s new top diplomat.

For his part, Abdollahian expressed complete trust in Tehran and Damascus taking “mighty steps” to confront US sanctions imposed on them and confirmed that their relations would strengthen under Iran’s new leadership.

His visit to Syria comes a day after he represented Iran at a Baghdad conference attended by officials from around the Middle East aimed at easing regional tensions.

During his meeting with Mekdad, Abdollahian said “the courage of former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani played a vital role alongside the Syrian army in defeating ISIS.”

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad’s international airport in January 2020.

Abdollahian stated that the blood of Iranians and Syrians spilled on the battlefield of the fight against terrorism in Syria guarantees the continuation of the strategic relations between the two countries.

“We have entered a new phase of trade and economic relations between the two countries and peoples, and today I am here first to emphasize the development and expansion of relations and stress that Syria is at the forefront of the resistance,” he said.

Before attending the regional session in Baghdad, he confirmed he would convey all the conference’s details to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He said that Tehran is consulting with Damascus on matters of regional security and sustainable development.

Abdollahian stressed that Tehran would consult directly with Damascus regarding the Baghdad conference and the role of the region’s countries in any initiative.

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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband "immediately", a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group's jailed founder.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons," a Turkish defense ministry source said.

The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.

Although the insurgency targeted Türkiye, the PKK's leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key force in northeastern Syria.

Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire.

The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations.

"If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay... or deceive... we will continue our ongoing operations... until we eliminate the last terrorist," he said.

- Resonance in Syria, Iraq -

Since 2016, Türkiye has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border.

Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are -- notably those in the US-backed SDF, which it sees as part of the PKK.

The SDF -- the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG -- spearheaded the fight that ousted ISIS extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing an extremist resurgence.

Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it "does not concern our forces" in northeastern Syria.

But Türkiye disagrees.

Since the toppling of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem.

"Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organizations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF," Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AKP, said on Monday.

Ocalan's call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years.

Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara's relationship with Baghdad.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," Iraq's national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP.

"Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," he said, while pointing out that Türkiye had "said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq".