Turkey's foreign minister pointed to Israel's threat to Syria's future

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan pointed to Israel's threat to Syria's future. He said this at the general assembly of the grand national assembly (parliament) on December 10.

Fidan said Turkey "will stand by its Syrian brothers" and added that it condemns Israel's entry into the partition zone and its movement into Syria.

"When the international community abandoned the Syrian people to their fate, Turkey was the only country that sided with the Syrians. Now Syrians can return to their country in peace. We do not want to see a Syria that breeds instability," Anadolu Agency quoted Fidan as saying.

He also said that Israel is encroaching on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to the minister, "Israeli aggression and lawlessness continue" and threaten Turkey's future.

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On the same day, Fidan said Turkey has started work on opening an embassy in Damascus. He noted that the government will wait for the fulfillment of the relevant conditions.

Earlier, on December 8, during a telephone conversation, US Defense Chief Lloyd Austin and his Turkish counterpart Yaşar Güler discussed the situation in Syria and reiterated the need to avoid escalation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 7 advocated peace in Syria and said there were no territorial claims to the neighboring country. He added that Syria belongs to Syrians with all its ethnic and religious elements.

The situation in Syria has escalated as a result of a major attack by armed militias in Aleppo and Idlib, which began on November 28 and led to the Syrian army's retaliation against the militants.