Russia condemned recent attacks against Turkey's security forces in northern Syria, Moscow's special envoy for the war-torn country said Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan after the 18th round of Syria talks in the Astana format, envoy Alexander Lavrentyev said recent attacks by "Kurdish groups," referring to the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG, in northeastern Syria against both Turkish forces and locals needed to be discussed.
Touching on Ankara's possible cross-border anti-terror operation in northern Syria, Lavrentyev voiced concern that such a move could trigger "separatist groups" in the region and argued that other solutions should be pursued.
The PKK/YPG terrorist group often mounts attacks on Jarablus, Afrin and Azaz from the Manbij and Tal Rifaat areas in Syria.
The terrorists often target Turkish security forces who provide security in the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring operation zones, and try to infiltrate the positions of Syrian opposition fighters from regions that the terrorist group was supposed to withdraw from under the agreements with the United States and Russia.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
Russia, Turkey, and Iran have agreed to make further efforts to ensure calm in Syria's Idlib de-escalation area, the three countries said in a joint statement after talks in Kazakhstan.
They "highlighted the necessity to maintain calm on the ground by fully implementing all agreements on Idlib" without specifying what that meant for Turkey's plans to conduct a military operation against the YPG group there.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said two weeks ago that Turkey would launch new military operations in Syria to extend the 30-kilometer (20-mile) deep "safe zones" along the border, aiming at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions and other areas further east.
"We are taking another step in establishing a 30-kilometer security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifaat and Manbij," he said, adding that the planned military operations will gradually continue in other parts of northern Syria.
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the PKK/YPG terrorist threat.
In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone. Likewise, U.S. then-Vice President Mike Pence pledged to Turkey that the YPG/PKK terrorist group would withdraw from the Operation Peace Spring region. But neither Moscow nor Washington kept their promises.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday a possible Turkish military operation in Syria would not bring stability.
"We do not believe that this special operation will contribute to the stability and security of the Syrian Arab Republic," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia considers Turkey's possible military operation in Syria unwise as it could escalate and destabilize the situation, the RIA news agency also cited Lavrentyev as saying on Wednesday.
Russia tried to persuade Turkey to cancel plans for a military operation in Syria during talks in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Lavrentyev said, adding: "We tried to convince them the issue needs to be resolved through peaceful means, without resorting to violence because that could lead to escalation."
Also noting Russia's intentions to move the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee from Geneva to another location, Lavrentyev said Switzerland's attitude toward Russia was the main reason for this.
Consensus on an alternative venue will be decided by Turkey, Russia and Iran, the guarantors of the Astana process, as well as the Bashar Assad regime and Syrian opposition.
Lavrentyev said Moscow had conveyed this wish to the other guarantors
Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as the Omani capital Muscat and Bahrain were among the candidates, he said, adding that Algeria had also said it could host the next session of the Constitutional Committee.
The Astana peace process was launched in January 2017 at the initiative of Turkey, Russia and Iran. Its meetings also contribute to the advancement of the U.N.-led diplomatic process in Geneva.
