Syria backs India on Article 370; opines ‘any govt in world has right to do what deems fit to protect citizen’

New Delhi, October 15: Backing India by its decision of abrogating Article 370, Syrian envoy to India Raid Abbas on Monday announced that New Delhi's decision to revoke special status from Jammu and Kashmir is India's ‘internal matter’ and that any government in the world has a right to do what deems fit to protect its citizens. Syria lauded India for backing it on Turkey issue stating that India has a 'strong voice' in international community.

Speaking to the media, Syrian envoy to India said, “Any government has the right to do whatever it likes on its land to protect its people. Any government has the right to find the best way to protect its people. It (the move on Kashmir) is an internal issue. We are always in favour of India on any action”. India has always maintained that the move on Kashmir is an internal matter, amid hostility from Pakistan. India's stance has been backed by world powers, including the SAARC nations.

Syrian Ambassador on Monday welcomed New Delhi's position on the military offense by Turkey, over its "unilateral military offensive" in north-eastern Syria, saying India has a "strong voice" in the international community and Damascus looks forward to joining hands with it for further cooperation. "The Syrian government and the people of my country highly appreciate the India government's stand on the matter," said Abbas.

India, along with the Arab world, European powers, Russia, and the United States stand on the opposite end of the spectrum, against Turkey, on the issue and has called upon Ankara to respect the territorial integrity of Syria.

In a statement coming from the Ministry of external Affairs on the situation prevailing in Syria, India asserted, “We are deeply concerned at the unilateral military offensive by Turkey in north-east Syria. Turkey's actions can undermine stability in the region and the fight against terrorism. Its action also has the potential for causing humanitarian and civilian distress”.

India had also called upon Turkey to exercise restraint, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and urged for the peaceful settlement of all issues through dialogue and discussion.

On the contrary, Pakistan PM Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend his solidarity and support for Turkey's military operation against Kurds in the north-east Syria. Pakistan's backing for Turkey comes even as the Kurdish led SDF stated that the unilateral military operation has "activated" ISIS in the region and that the fighters of the Islamic States were fleeing prisons.

The Syrian Ambassador took Pakistan to task for backing Turkey saying, "Turkey supports terror and all country who support Turkey, support terror." Pakistan, by far has been a lone supporter of Turkey, meanwhile, even the Arab world, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait have called out Turkey for their military endeavors in war-torn Syria post US' departure.