News - Middle East: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey says his country will stand against any threat against Syria’s freedom and stability, amid Israel’s attempts to occupy Syrian territories.

Israel’s military forces started attacking Syria after the armed opposition in the country toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad early on Sunday.

Erdogan said Tuesday, “From now on, we cannot allow Syria to be divided again.”

“Any attack on the freedom of the Syrian people, the stability of the new administration, and the integrity of its lands will find us standing against it.”

During a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Erdogan claimed that he had always defended the preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity and stability.

He said that “Syria should be governed by the Syrian people, and that Turkey will continue to do its utmost to help build a unified and terrorism-free Syria.”

Turkey's foreign ministry also said in a statement that Ankara will support Syria's "territorial integrity” as Israel keeps perusing its “occupying mentality” within the country’s borders.

Within Syria, Turkey itself has fought Kurdish militants for decades. Ankara views armed Kurds so close to its border as a threat.

On Monday, a Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle struck a Kurdish-populated village in Syria’s northern province of Raqqah, killing a dozen people.

And fighting erupted again on Saturday in the Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij in Syria’s border with Turkey — between militant groups, one backed by the United States and the other by Turkey.

Source: Press TV