SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Turkey’s possible military incursion in Syria is considered as unwise, said Russia’s Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentyev on Wednesday.
“Russia considers Turkey’s possible military operation in Syria unwise as it could escalate and destabilize the situation,” he said, according to the RIA news agency.
Lavrentyev also stressed Moscow no longer considered Geneva a suitable venue for talks between Syrians.
The Russian envoy was in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan on Wednesday for talks with Turkey, Iran, and the Syrian government and opposition, RIA reported.
Ankara says it must act in Syria because Washington and Moscow broke promises to push the predominantly Kurdish group YPG 30 km (18 miles) from the border after a 2019 Turkish offensive, and says attacks from YPG-controlled areas have increased.
On May 23, Erdogan said Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a “terrorist group” linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Meanwhile, On June 6 Turkey’s ministry of defense renewed the country’s threats saying that the presence of Kurdish groups in northern Syria is unacceptable.
Turkey’s operations in Syria are focusing on uprooting the Kurdish control in the north of the country and aims to establish a deep safe zone, particularly in those areas held by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers linked to (PKK).
Ankara has carried out four operations in northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of kilometers of land and pushing some 30 km deep into the country, mainly targeting the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and other Kurdish groups.
