Iran top diplomat in Syria to calm Turkey tensions

Iran’s foreign minister travelled Saturday to Damascus on what he said was a mission to calm tensions, after Turkey threatened to launch a new offensive on Kurds in northern Syria.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said his visit “was aimed at establishing peace and security in the region between Syria and Turkey”, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

Iran is a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and an important trading partner for Turkey.

Turkey has launched a string of offensives in Syria since 2016 targeting Kurdish militias as well as Islamic State group jihadists and forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this year he wanted to encourage one million Syrian refugees to return to their country by building them housing and local infrastructure in their homeland.

In recent weeks, Erdogan said he planned to launch a military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria waging an insurgency against his country. These include the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which formed a crucial part of an international coalition against the Islamic State group.