Damascus slams Turkey's authorisation of military action in Syria

Syria attacked the Turkish government's latest decision to authorise potential military action in Syria, terming it an act of violent aggression against it.

In letters addressing the UN, the Syrian foreign ministry stated that the "declared policy of the Turkish government constitutes a flagrant violation to the UN charter, which provides for respecting the national sovereignty of the countries while adopting the policy of non-interference in their affairs", Xinhua reported.

The ministry further urged the international community to put an end to the Turkish government's "foolhardiness", which poses a threat to the regional and international peace.

The international community must take a serious stance to stop Ankara's "destructive" approach and "pressure it to stop its unlimited support to the armed terrorist groups", the ministry demanded.

A day earlier, Turkish parliament passed a motion to authorise cross-border military actions in Syria and Iraq, joining thus the US-led anti-terror coalition, which has been on a mission in Syria against the positions of the Islamic State (IS) militants and other militant groups.

The decision grants the Turkish government a one-year mandate to send Turkish armed forces "to foreign countries for cross-border operations and interventions and to position foreign militaries in Turkey for the same purposes".