Russia calls on its Turkish partners to show restraint not to allow further escalation on the territory of Syria, Russian President's Special Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev told reporters on Tuesday.
"We will, of course, call on our Turkish colleagues for some restraint in order to prevent escalation of tension, and escalation of tension not only in the north, but also throughout Syria. We think that we should continue working with all the interested parties and try to find a right solution, including the so-called Kurdish question," he said before the international meeting on the Syrian settlement in the Astana format.
The diplomat reminded that Ankara justified the Turkish air Operation Claw-Sword by the recent terrorist act in the center of Istanbul, which killed 6 people and injured more than 80. At the time, the suspected attacker confessed to ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has an offshoot in Syria called the People's Self-Defense Forces, banned in Turkey.
"The Russian Federation in the last months since the beginning of this year, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he intended to conduct an operation [in Syria], has done everything possible to prevent this from happening, to at least prevent any large-scale offensive army operation on the ground. The Russian Federation managed to do this, and we hope that we will be able to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory," Lavrentiev stressed.
About the operation
Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on November 21 that the republic's Armed Forces neutralized 184 terrorists during two days of Operation Claw-Sword in Syria and Iraq. More than 50 aircraft and 20 drones were involved in the operation. Aircraft were supported from the ground by artillery. The strikes were carried out at the locations of PKK (banned in Turkey) and its Syrian branch -People's Self-Defense Forces. The Turkish Defense Ministry reported that the operation was successful in the districts of Qandil, Asos and Hakurk in northern Iraq, as well as in the districts of Arap Pynary, Tell Rifat, Jazira and Derik in northern Syria.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Evgeny Biyatov/POOL/TASS
Based on materials from TASS