Ankara supporting anti-Damascus terrorists: Syria UN envoy
The Syrian ambassador to the UN has accused Turkey of aiding terrorist groups operating against the Damascus government.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, Bashar Ja'afari also called on the UN to take action to bring an end to the Ankara government's crimes against Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
Ja'afari said armed terrorist groups, with members from over 100 countries, are being provided with funding, weapons, logistical and materiel support “by states and regimes from the region and beyond” in their war against Syria.
“During the crisis, Turkish interference in Syria's internal affairs took many forms, including direct involvement of the regime of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the Turkish armed forces in offensive military operations in support of terrorists,” he noted.
The diplomat said the Turkish forces “have also provided covering fire for the terrorists' movements inside Syrian territory or along the Syrian-Turkish border, in order to facilitate the infiltration of terrorist mercenaries from Turkish territory into Syrian territory.”
He urged the UN “to take a firm stand” to “put an end to these violations and crimes” committed by Ankara against Syria as well as Syrian refugees in Turkey, accusing Erdogan of dreaming "of reviving the Ottoman colonial legacy."
Elsewhere in his comments, Ja'afari described Ankara’s recent downing of a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian soil as "a stab in the back of the heroes who are combating the terrorism” perpetrated by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
On November 24, Turkey downed a Russian Su-24M Fencer aircraft, claiming that the fighter jet had repeatedly violated the Turkish airspace.
Moscow, however, dismissed Ankara’s claims, stressing that the plane was brought down in Syria's airspace, where Russia has been conducting operations against Takfiri terrorists since September 30 upon a request by the Damascus government.
In his letter, Ja'afari also denounced Turkey’s allegations regarding the incident as a futile attempt to cover up the involvement of the Erdogan administration in the smuggling of Syrian oil by Daesh into Turkey and the smuggling of arms to terrorists in Syria.
Earlier this month, Russia released photos showing columns of tanker trucks purportedly loading oil at Daesh-controlled installations in Syria and Iraq before entering neighboring Turkey.
Russia: Poland’s talks on hosting US nuclear weapons ‘dangerous’
Russia says weighs downgrading ties with US if assets are seized
'US secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks'
April 25: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
Hezbollah hits Israeli military sites near border with rockets, drones
Rwandans say UK deportation 'another brutal manifestation of neo-colonialism'
US troops begin construction of controversial pier off Gaza
Israel ‘spoofs’ GPS signals, endangering flight safety amid Gaza war: Report
Iran urges Security Council to address 'belligerent' Israeli atrocities
VIDEO | Leader meets workers on Labor Week
French police called in to break up US-style pro-Palestinian student demo
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
