Turkish defense minister calls for global support for 'historic process' in Syria

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler on Friday urged the international community to support the "historic process" unfolding in Syria.

"The international community must support this historic process that opens an important window of opportunity in Syria," Guler told lawmakers in the capital Ankara.

He asserted that Israel, with its attacks in Syria, is escalating tensions and sowing instability in the region.

Guler said the world must not remain silent on Tel Aviv's actions, describing them as “the clearest reflection of an occupying mindset.”

The Israeli army captured the buffer zone in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, shortly after Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced the collapse of a UN-monitored disengagement agreement with Damascus.

Immediately following the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, the Israeli army captured the buffer zone in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights, shortly after Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced the collapse of a UN-monitored disengagement agreement with Damascus.

The Israeli army mounted hundreds of airstrikes against military bases, air defense stations, and intelligence headquarters, as well as long- and short-range missile depots and unconventional weapon stockpiles across Syria.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.