Iran, Russia, Turkey express opposition to Israel's use of civilian aircraft to cover-up attacks on Syria

Iran, Russia and Turkey, the guarantors of the Astana peace process aimed at resolving the Syria conflict, have expressed their opposition to Israel's use of civilian aircraft to cover-up its attacks on the Arab country.

In a joint statement at the 17th meeting of the Astana process, the guarantor states condemned Israel's continued attacks on Syria, noting that the assaults constitute a threat to the region's stability and security. They called for an end to the aggression.

They also stressed that "Israel's use of civilian aircraft to cover-up its aggression on the Syrian territories is a flagrant violation of the international law and endangers the lives of the civilian population,"  Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported. 

Syria and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s 1967-present occupation of the Arab country’s Golan Heights. The Israeli regime maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as a launchpad for its attacks on the Syrian soil.

The attacks started to grow significantly in scale and frequency after 2011, when Syria found itself in the grip of rampant foreign-backed militancy and terrorism.

Tel Aviv claims that its attacks target alleged supplies that are headed for the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah. On countless occasions, though, the strikes have targeted the reinforcement belonging to Syria’s military and its allies.

The regime has also been providing safe passage and medical treatment to the Takfiri terrorists that flee the allies’ defensive operations.

In their statement, Iran, Russia and Turkey also reiterated that there can be no military solution to the crisis in Syria.

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They also agreed to make efforts to improve the situation in Syria's Idlib, and to combat terrorism and eradicate the terrorist groups in the country.

"We discussed the situation in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, and agreed to make more efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in and around the de-escalation zone. The necessity to maintain calm 'on the ground' through the full implementation of all existing agreements on Idlib was affirmed," the three countries said in the statement.

According to the statement, the trio "expressed their determination to continue their interaction in order to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and to oppose separatist schemes that aim to undermine Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to threaten the national security of the neighboring countries."

The guarantors also expressed their concern over the humanitarian situation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's health system and the socio-economic conditions there, and expressed their opposition to unilateral sanctions that violate international law and the UN Charter.

Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, as a result of which Daesh and other terrorist groups emerged in the country.

The Syrian government has repeatedly condemned the US and the EU for waging economic terrorism on the country through their unilateral sanctions, holding them responsible for the suffering of the Syrian people, especially now that the country is grappling with a deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The 17th round of talks began in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan on Tuesday. The two-day meeting involved delegations of the guarantor countries, the Syrian government and the foreign-backed armed opposition.

According to the statement, the 18th round of talks will take place in the first half of 2022.

The talks are moderated by Russia and Iran - as allies of the Syrian government - and Turkey, which sides with the opposition.

The trio, in the earlier round of talks, agreed on the establishment of a mechanism to support the truce, underlined the importance of maintaining the national sovereignty of Syria, and stressed that there was no military solution to the conflict in the Arab country.

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