TEHRAN – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his Czech counterpart Radek Vondracek in a meeting in Belgrade on Monday underlined the need to avoid military option to settle disputes or security concerns in Syria. 

Larijani made the remarks in a meeting with Vondracek on the sidelines of the 141st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Serbia’s capital attended by parliamentary delegations from around 180 countries.

“Regarding Syria, we believe that diplomatic dialogues are the best way to put an end to the crisis but some countries prefer military approaches which are unwise and will end in heavy losses,” Larijani pointed out.

 “Military confrontations will reinvigorate terrorism including in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria,” Larijani said, adding, “Of course, in response to calls from Baghdad and Damascus we helped the Syrian and Iraqi governments to overcome the terrorist group of Daesh.”

The Czech speaker, for his part, said, “Militarism will end nowhere, hence, a dialogue-based diplomatic way must be permanently pursued.”

“Unfortunately civilians in Syria and Yemen are suffering (from militaristic approaches),” Vondracek regretted.

Turkey launched a military operation against Syrian Kurdish fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Wednesday under the pretext that the group is linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that it has been fighting with.

In a press conference on Monday President Hassan Rouhani also said the Turkish military moves on northeastern Syria is “unacceptable”, adding, "The Turkish government is our friend, but the way they have chosen is not good, and we believe there are better ways." 

Also, last week Rouhani said security at Syria-Turkey borders can just be provided by the Syrian Army.

“We have announced that security at the north of Syria and south of Turkey can just be provided by the Syrian Army and we should make the grounds for the Syrian Army’s presence in this region… and the Kurds in this region, which is their own country, should be beside the Syrian Army,” Rouhani told a cabinet session.

 
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement last week urging Turkey to immediately stop the offensive and withdraw its forces from the region.

The statement said, “As it has been announced earlier, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the current regional situation a consequence of extra-regional interferences, especially by the United States.” 

The ministry said Iran, by capitalizing on its regional influence, has solutions to problems haunting the region. “Based on its view on solving problems within its regional capacities, Iran is ready to play a role.” 

The crisis can just be settled through peaceful solutions and respect for Syria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, the statement added.