Russia warns Turkey against destabilization in Syria

SANAA, Nov. 22 (YPA) – The Kremlin warned Turkey on Tuesday of “destabilization” in northern Syria, as Ankara launched several air strikes on Kurdish militants, a day after Erdoğan raised the possibility of launching a ground operation in Syrian territory.

“We understand Turkey’s concerns related to its security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, but at the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from any initiative that could lead to a serious destabilization of the general situation”.

The Russian official made his statement in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where a Russian-Turkish-Iranian trilateral meeting on Syria was being held.

On Tuesday, Russia had expressed its hope that Turkey would show “restraint” and refrain from “any excessive use of force” in Syria, in order to avoid the escalation of tensions Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, told reporters.

Lavrentiev’s statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hinted at the possibility of launching a “ground operation” in Syria, the day after a series of air raids targeting Kurdish sites in Syria and Iraq.

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