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DAMASCUS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lashed out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the remarks he recently made against the Syrian government, branding the Turkish leader as "tyrant."
In a statement carried by state news agency SANA, the ministry said "Syria will not allow this tyrant to intervene in its internal affairs and will cut off the hands that try to harm it."
The statement came after the recent remarks by Erdogan, who said Tuesday that the aim of his troops intervention in Syria is to end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
"The remarks of Erdogan reflect the real intentions behind the Turkish aggression on Syria and that's a result of his greed and illusions that feed the the thoughts of this extremist tyrant," the ministry said.
"It's ironic that such a tyrant knows how to speak of democracy while he was the one who turned his country into a big prison for all of his opponents," the ministry added.
Meanwhile, the ministry urged the international community to put an end to the "behaviors of Erdogan and his meddling in the affairs of the regional countries, which poses a threat to the regional and international peace."
The Turkish army has recently intervened in northern Syria to back rebel groups under a campaign called "Euphrates Shield," declaring to fight Islamic State (IS) group and prevent Kurdish militias from taking over key areas in northern Syria near the Turkish borders.
But Erdogan in his remarks said that targeting the Syrian army is not far from happening.
Following Turkish intervention, the Syrian government made it clear that it will deal with the Turkish forces as a force of occupation.
A couple of weeks ago, three Turkish soldiers were killed near the Syrian northern city of al-Bab, which is controlled by the IS.
Ankara then accused the Syrian forces of targeting the Turkish soldiers, promising retaliation.
