Türkiye, Iran Support Syria's Territorial Integrity, Unity

Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pose for pictures with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Ankara, Türkiye, January 17, 2023. (Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pose for pictures with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Ankara, Türkiye, January 17, 2023. (Handout via Reuters)
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Türkiye, Iran Support Syria's Territorial Integrity, Unity

Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pose for pictures with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Ankara, Türkiye, January 17, 2023. (Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pose for pictures with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Ankara, Türkiye, January 17, 2023. (Handout via Reuters)

Türkiye and Iran have reiterated their support for a political solution in Syria and preserving its unity and territorial integrity. They also stressed the need to solve the many problems of the Syrian crisis within the framework of the Astana track.

“Türkiye and Iran support Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Ankara on Tuesday.

“Within the framework of the Astana process, of which Türkiye, Russia and Iran are the guarantor countries, we believe work must be done to solve many problems,” added the top Turkish diplomat.

Cavusoglu stressed that cooperation and coordination with Iran “is ongoing within the framework of the Astana process, and that Ankara has a common desire to activate the political track, the work of the Constitutional Committee, and other steps in Syria to establish stability.”

The minister added that the process of normalization between the intelligence institutions in Türkiye and Syria “has begun.”

He stressed that Türkiye “will not allow the establishment of a terrorist state on its southern borders.”

Cavusoglu added that he also discussed with Abdollahian the fight against terrorism.

The Turkish minister said that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is present in both Syria and Iran, noting that his country has taken “necessary measures” at home and outside the country to fight the group.

He pointed out that the US and Russia “did not fulfill their commitments under a 2019 agreement to remove the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) away from the Turkish borders.”

Türkiye often targets Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria, claiming that they are affiliated to the PKK.

Türkiye has conducted three offensives against the YPG since 2016, and it is threatening to carry out a fresh military campaign against them soon.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.