{"id":43503,"date":"2019-10-25T03:32:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T03:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/25\/turkish-and-syrian-ambassadors-clash-at-un-security-council\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:41:55","slug":"turkish-and-syrian-ambassadors-clash-at-un-security-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/25\/turkish-and-syrian-ambassadors-clash-at-un-security-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish and Syrian ambassadors clash at UN Security Council"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED NATIONS \u2014 The Turkish and Syrian ambassadors clashed Thursday at their first U.N. Security Council encounter since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive earlier this month following the withdrawal of U.S. forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s ambassador, Feridun Sinirlioglu, called it a limited counter-terrorism operation \u201cto eliminate the longstanding existential terror threat along our border with Syria\u201d and \u201cto enforce Syria\u2019s territorial integrity and unity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja\u2019afari told council members his government \u201ccondemns in the strongest terms the Turkish aggression<\/a>, and vehemently rejects attempts by the Turkish regime to justify its actions under the pretext of self-defense or countering terrorism.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council met on Syria\u2019s humanitarian situation, but the members\u2019 top concerns were the state of a Russian-Turkish cease-fire agreement that divides up the border region and prospects for next week\u2019s first meeting of a committee that is supposed to draft a new Syrian constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey views Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria who fought alongside U.S. troops against Islamic State extremists as terrorists because of their links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, which has waged a 35-year conflict against the Turkish state. It justified sending troops into Syria as exercising its right to self-defense under the U.N. Charter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI therefore flatly reject and strongly condemn any misrepresentation of our counter-terrorism operation as an offensive or aggression,\u201d Sinirlioglu told the council, saying that \u201cOperation Peace Spring\u201d launched by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Oct. 9 was strictly limited in nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja\u2019afari accused Turkey of a \u201cflagrant violation\u201d of international law, the U.N. Charter and U.N. resolutions and dismissed its justifications for military action as \u201clies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aggression led to the occupation of Syria and the death and injury of hundreds of civilians\u201d and massive displacement, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Nation\u2019s deputy humanitarian chief, Ursula Mueller, has said almost 180,000 people, including 80,000 children, fled their homes in northeastern Syria because of the offensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja\u2019afari noted that many European council members on Thursday condemned Turkey\u2019s military operation, but he accused the Europeans of creating the current situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey provided on a plate of gold to Erdogan all the justifications he needed for his aggression,\u201d he said. \u201cThose countries played a vital role in sponsoring secessionist, illegitimate militias in the northeast of Syria.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, called the Russian-Turkish cease-fire agreement<\/a> \u201cof key significance for stabilization in Syria.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue to assist Syria and the Kurds as they seek to build comprehensive dialogue on pressing issues,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\t