Turkey Urges Iran To Pressure Damascus, Shi'ite Militias To Stop Truce Violations
Turkey's foreign minister has called on Iran to exert pressure on the Syrian government and its allies to stop violating a cease-fire in Syria.
"Iran should reassert its authority over the Shi'ite militias and the regime in Syria," Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on January 4.
Iran, along with Russia, is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey is a sponsor of the opposition.
Moscow and Ankara brokered last week a fragile cease-fire, slated to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
Cavusoglu said the violations were threatening to derail the talks planned for later this month between the Syrian government and the opposition.
The Turkish minister also said Russian officials will visit Turkey on January 9-10 to discuss the framework for the talks.
