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Tehran: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed his case for military strikes against Syrian Kurds at a summit in Tehran on Tuesday, despite warnings from Iran’s supreme leader against such a move.

Erdogan told the leaders of Russia and Iran that he expected their full support in Ankara’s fight against “terrorists” in Syria.

The summit, which was hosted by Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was aimed at ending more than 11 years of conflict in Syria, where Iran and Russia support the Damascus government, and Turkey. Supports rebel forces against the regime.

But Turkey also deeply opposes a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in Syria’s oil-rich northeast, and Erdogan recently vowed to launch an offensive against the Kurdish militants behind the 2019 attack.

Both Russia and Iran have military presence in parts of Syria mentioned as potential targets of Turkey’s new attack.

A statement from the three presidents expressed their opposition to “the illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues belonging to Syria,” while they rejected “all attempts to create new realities on the ground … illegal self-government initiatives.” Including” in a war-torn country.

The tripartite statement came shortly after Erdogan urged Russia and Iran to support their efforts to counter terrorism in Syria, stating that “it must be clearly understood that separatists are responsible for terrorist organizations”. There is no place in the future of our region.”

“We will continue our fight against terrorist organizations in the times to come,” he said.

Erdogan accused Kurdish militants of using the border area as a stage for a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

“We expect Russia and Iran to support Turkey in its fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said in televised remarks.

Erdogan noted that Turkey had signed an agreement with Moscow and Washington in 2019 under which both countries were to help expel Kurdish militants 30 km from the Syria-Turkey border.

“It still hasn’t happened,” Erdogan said. “It’s a long overdue one.”

Washington and Moscow have also urged Turkey to exercise restraint.

Erdogan had earlier on Tuesday rebuked Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for his offensive against Syrian Kurds in a bilateral meeting ahead of the summit.

Khamenei told Erdogan that such an attack would be “damaging” for the region and called for the issue to be resolved through talks between Ankara, Damascus, Moscow and Tehran.

It was not immediately clear whether the tripartite statement at the summit reflected any change in Iran’s or Russia’s position on Turkey’s threatening attack.

Khamenei also urged Putin to strengthen energy cooperation with Moscow in his meeting on Tuesday.

Russia’s president has traveled abroad for only the second time since Russia ordered the February invasion of Ukraine to attend the gathering.

The summit comes days after US President Joe Biden visited the Middle East for the first time in his presidency, with a halt in Iran’s regional foes and oil-rich Saudi Arabia, a country whose government has vowed to cushion price hikes. pressure to increase oil production. Related to the Ukraine War.
Khamenei called for stronger “long-term cooperation” with Moscow, according to a statement on his official website, adding that both Moscow and Tehran are suffering from Western sanctions.
Describing such ties as “extremely beneficial to both countries”, the Supreme Leader called for “follow-up and thorough implementation” of bilateral contracts and understandings in hydrocarbons.
Before Putin’s arrival, the National Iranian Oil Company and Russia’s Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding “worth about $40 billion,” according to the Iranian Oil Ministry’s official news agency.
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Erdogan also held a bilateral meeting, where the Russian president said he would like to “thank” his Turkish counterpart for the progress in talks on Ukraine’s grain.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has severely hampered shipments from one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and other grains, raising fears of a global food shortage.
Turkey – a NATO member on speaking terms with both Russia and Ukraine – has led efforts to restart grain distribution.
Erdogan has been offering to meet with Putin to help resolve months of heightened global tensions.
“I want to thank you for your mediation efforts,” Putin told Erdogan during the bilateral meeting, according to remarks released by the Kremlin.
“We have moved on,” Putin said, “not all issues have been resolved yet.”
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Monday that Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports threatens supplies to countless thousands starving to death.

On Sunday, a day after Biden ended his tour of the Middle East, Iran accused the United States of provoking a crisis in the region.
Biden vowed that the US “will not tolerate attempts by any country to dominate the other in the region through military buildup, infiltration and/or threats” in the context of Iran.
In a speech at a Saudi summit in the Gulf Arab countries as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Biden assured those gathered that the US would remain fully engaged in the Middle East.
“We will not go far and leave a void to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” he said
After the meeting, a joint statement committed the leaders to “upholding regional security and stability”.
It also outlined diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a goal Tehran has always denied seeking.
On Sunday, Iran accused the US of “once again resorting to a failed policy of Iran-phobia, trying to create tension and crisis in the region”.
The US alleged last week that Iran is planning to deliver “hundreds of drones” to Russia to aid in its war on Ukraine, a charge the Islamic Republic dismissed as “baseless”.