Kremlin tells Turkey to not attack Syrian, Russian forces in Idlib province

Kremlin asked Turkey to stop attacks on Russian and Syrian regime forces in the embattled Idlib province and to uphold the past agreements. The comments were made after the rising tensions between Russia and Turkey following the confrontation that killed 13 Turkish soldiers in Idlib province last week.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the implementation of agreements between Moscow and Ankara is the most important thing for Russia. He added that suppression of any terrorist activity directed against the Syrian armed forces and Russian military facilities are unacceptable. Russia’s relation with Turkey came under strain after Syria launched an offensive against rebel forces, displacing civilians and causing concerns for Ankara of the refugee influx. 

With the increasing number of civilian casualties, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had condemned the ongoing Syrian crisis with numerous despite the announcement of a ceasefire. Michelle Bachelet said that though the pursuit of a ceasefire is to be encouraged, it has failed to protect the lives of civilians.

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US warns Russia

Earlier, the United States had warned Russia over its Syria policy and accused them of violating the terms of a de-confliction agreement by challenging US presence in northeastern Syria. James Jeffrey, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, said that the United States was very worried about the dangerous conflict and urged Russia to change its policies.

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Speaking at an interactive online press briefing LiveAtState on January 30, James Jeffrey said that he was appalled by the reports of Bashar al-Assad regime’s “unrelenting assault” on Idlib “supported by Russia and Iran”. Jeffrey said that it was a violation of resolution from 2015 and the several ceasefire accords that Russia had agreed to but is now ignoring.

“We had a setback temporarily in Syria back in October with the Turkish incursion, but we’re back doing full operations with our local partner, the Syrian Democratic Forces,” he added.

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(With inputs from agencies)