REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DAMASCUS -- Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad on Friday stressed that his country will not allow Turkey to interfere in its internal affairs, a day after Ankara authorized military actions in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State (IS) militant group, state news agency SANA reported.

During a meeting with Damascus-based foreign ambassadors, Mekdad stated that the Syrian people were the ones who had chosen their leadership and future. "They will not, by any means, allow any foreign intervention in their affairs," he said.

He stressed that his country "is determined to confront all of the schemes that target the unity and security of the Syrian territories."

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish parliament passed a motion to authorize 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 IS terror militants and like-minded 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 purpose."

Mekdad stressed that the Turkish decision is an "aggression" against Syria and a "continuation of the policies of the Turkish government in supporting IS and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front."

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