Damascus Urges Illegal Foreign Forces to Leave Syria

During a press conference at the end of the 11th round of talks on the Syria crisis in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on Thursday, Jaafari accused the US, Britain, France and Turkey of dispatching troops to Syria illegally and occupying some areas in the war-torn state, Middle East News reported.

"There is a clear discrepancy in the stances taken by the US, France and Britain who have already agreed on the UN Security Council resolutions on commitment to Syria’s sovereignty; meanwhile these countries have been deploying their troops illegally in Syria,” he added.

He also expressed concerns about the illegal Turkish military presence in Syria in violation of Ankara's commitments in the Astana and Sochi agreements.

Jaafari raised alarm at the complicity of certain countries in delivering chemical weapons to terrorists in Syria's Idlib Province, saying “The use of shells containing chemical substances by terrorist organizations indicate an escalation by the sponsors of terrorism."

Separately on Thursday, the 11 round of the Astana talks published a closing statement, condemning any use of chemical arms in Syria and demanding a transparent probe into reports concerning the issue.

In the statement, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara, which are acting as the guarantors of an all-Syria ceasefire, reaffirmed their determination to fight terrorism in Syria and eliminate Daesh, al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups there.

The guarantor countries further "reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter".

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