Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad reaffirmed that the Turkish occupation in northeastern Syria will end, and the Turkish withdrawal is the only way to restore relations between the two countries.

Mikdad discussed during a symposium at the al-Assad National Library in Damascus about cooperation between the Syrian and Russian delegations to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

He stressed that the US occupation of northeastern Syria, its looting of wealth, and its support for separatist terrorist groups will end thanks to the struggle of the people of Deir Ezzor and Hasaka, side by side with the Syrian Arab Army.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Tehran is trying to create good conditions to resolve the problems between Türkiye and Syria, stressing that the territorial integrity of Syria is a fundamental issue.

Regarding the disagreements between Syria and Türkiye and the process of normalizing their relations, Kanaani mentioned that Iran is actively working to facilitate improved relations between the two nations.

In a joint press conference in Tehran with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the necessity of resolving the problems between Ankara and Damascus through dialogue and respecting borders.

Furthermore, Manbij witnessed renewed escalation after five members of the Turkish-backed National Army were killed and about 15 others injured when the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), targeted a Turkish military vehicle.

The vehicle was seized, and members of the National Army withdrew from the battlefields.

The incident coincided with the bombing of a car belonging to the deputy commander of the military council of Manbij due to an IED planted inside the car by unknown persons, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Contact lines between “Euphrates Shield” areas, controlled by the Turkish forces and their proxies, and areas of the military council of Manbij witnessed infiltration operations on several frontlines.

Clashes erupted between the factions and the military council of Manbij, accompanied by artillery shelling by regime forces within Euphrates Shield areas on the opposite side of the al-Sajour line.

A National Army member was killed, and others were injured, in violent clashes between groups of the military council of al-Bab and National Army factions in al-Bohij village in Manbij countryside following an infiltration operation.

Syrian regime forces stationed in al-Farat and Jabal al-Sayadah villages in the countryside of Manbij fired heavy artillery shells on areas within the Euphrates Shield areas.

The Syrian forces repelled a new infiltration of the National Army into Um Jeloud village, forcing them to retreat.

Furthermore, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that at least six Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) members were killed in northern Syria.

It said they were preparing to launch an attack in the Peace Spring area in northeastern Syria, which has been witnessing an escalation for days.

The clashes extended to Afrin, northwest of Aleppo, where Turkish forces and factions loyal to them bombed the Olive Branch area.

In Idlib, Russian warplanes carried out four raids in Jabal al-Zawiya within the de-escalation zone called the “Putin-Erdogan” zone.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed in Sochi recent developments in Syria and pushed the path of normalization between Ankara and Damascus.