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Russia urges Turkey to show 'restraint' in Syria

November 22, 2022

Moscow hopes Turkey will refrain from using of "excessive force" following Turkish strikes against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq. Ankara is threatening to launch a ground offensive.

https://p.dw.com/p/4Jr4g
A file image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in August of 2022
Russia and Turkey are two of the several major players in the Syrian war which has claimed nearly half a million lives since 2011Image: MURAT KULA/TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL/AFP

A Kremlin envoy on Tuesday said he hoped Turkey would refrain from using of "excessive force" in Syria amid a new escalation in a years-long war. The appeal comes after Turkey launched a deadly air strike against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq over the weekend, killing dozens.

"We will call on our Turkish colleagues for restraint aimed to prevent escalation of tensions, not only in the northern and northeastern regions of Syria, but on its entire territory," said Alexander Lavrentyev, special envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

Lavrentyev's comments came during his visit to the Kazakh capital, Astana, which is hosting Russia, Turkey and Iran — major players in the Syrian war which began in March of 2011 — for a meeting on Syria.

"Russia has for months ... done everything possible to prevent any large-scale ground operation," Lavrentyev added. He also noted that Turkey did not notify Moscow before launching the air strike, according to RIA.

'Operation Claw-Sword'

Ankara launch a deadly air strike, dubbed "Operation Claw-Sword" by its Defense Ministry, over the weekend to reign in Kurdish militant forces in northern Syria and Iraq. It came a week after a blast in central Istanbul killed six persons and wounded 81. 

On Monday, rockets fired from northern Syria landed in the Turkish border town of Karkamis killing at least three people. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is a banned militant and political organization in Turkey, is suspected to be behind the attack. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said he was mulling a ground operation to follow the air operation.

"We will make those who disturb us on our territory pay," he said.

The Turkish Defense Ministry claims its air strikes have killed 184 Kurdish fighters in two days.

A US State Department spokesperson released a statement on Tuesday, saying Washington opposed any action that destabilized the situation in Syria, also urging Turkey to show restraint.

mk/dj (AFP, Reuters)