ANKARA/BEIRUT, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday criticized Israel's recent military actions in Syria, saying that Türkiye would not allow any attempt to divide the neighboring country.
Erdogan made the remarks as he met the press following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, reaffirming Türkiye's longstanding position against the partition of Syria.
At this point, the "biggest problem in the region was Israel's aggression," Erdogan said, accusing Israel of exploiting recent clashes involving Druze groups in southern Syria to expand what he called its "banditry" into Syrian territory over the past two days.
"A stable Syria will generate stability for all neighboring countries. Otherwise, the burden of instability will be shared by everyone," the president added.
Türkiye, a key supporter of the Syrian interim government, has established a significant military footprint across northern Syria since 2016 through cross-border operations aimed at pushing back the People's Protection Units, a Syrian Kurdish military force.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Egypt reaffirmed on Thursday their support for Syria's security, unity, stability, and sovereignty.
In the statement, issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministers welcomed the recent agreement aimed at ending the crisis in Syria's southern Sweida province, voicing support for all efforts to restore security and stability across Syria.
The joint statement also strongly condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, describing them as "blatant violations of international law and a serious breach of Syria's sovereignty."
Highlighting Syria's pivotal role in regional peace, the ministers stressed that the country's stability is a cornerstone of broader regional security, calling on the international community to assist the Syrian interim government in its reconstruction efforts.
The statement also called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Syrian territories and an immediate end to hostile Israeli actions.
An escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias.
On Monday and Wednesday, Israel launched waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with strong condemnation from the international community.
Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect. ■
