Russia urges Türkiye to exercise restraint to avoid Syria escalation

Ankara needs to show "some restraint" to prevent further escalation in Syria, Russian President's special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev has said.

The Turkish army is conducting a "Claw-sword" operation in Syria and Iraq against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the "People's Self-Defence Units", which are recognised as terrorist in Ankara, Kommersant informs.

Lavrentiev discussed this topic before the start of the meeting on the Syrian settlement in Astana. In his opinion, it is necessary to "try to find some right solution, including on the so-called Kurdish issue". "Of course, we will call on our Turkish colleagues to exercise some restraint in order to prevent an escalation of tension, and an escalation of tension not only in the north but also throughout Syria," he told reporters.

According to the diplomat, Russia has "done everything possible" in recent months to prevent Türkiye from conducting a "large-scale offensive army operation" in Syria. "The Russian Federation has managed to do this, and we hope it will be possible to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory," Alexander Lavrentiev added.