Russia hopes Turkey will "refrain" from launching an operation in northern Syria, a diplomatic spokesperson said Thursday, after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan renewed the possibility of a military campaign targeting the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch, the YPG.
"We hope that Ankara will refrain from actions that could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria," Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"Such a move, in the absence of the agreement of the legitimate government of the Syrian Arab Republic, would be a direct violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and would "cause a further escalation of tensions in Syria", she added.
Zakharova said, "We understand Turkey's concerns about threats to national security emanating from the border regions" with Syria, but added that the problem can only be solved if Syrian troops are deployed in the area.
Under the terms of a 2019 agreement Russia, the main ally of the Damascus regime, and Turkey agreed to ensure YPG forces withdrew from areas in Syria close to the Turkish border and to launch joint patrols.
Turkey, which has mounted four operations in northern Syria since 2016, has vowed a new operation against YPG terrorists that control swathes of territory near the Turkish border.
While Turkey views the YPG forces in Syria as terrorists and a national security threat, the United States views the group as an ally that has helped drive Daesh from vast areas of Syria.
Washington, whose support for the YPG has long been a point of tension in ties with its NATO ally Turkey, has expressed concern, saying any new operation would put at risk U.S. troops – which have a presence in Syria – and undermine regional stability.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday warned NATO ally Turkey against a military operation in Syria, saying it would put the region at risk.
On a visit to the Turkish town of Hatay near the Syrian border, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations reiterated U.S. opposition to any military action.
"We have engaged with the Turkish government. We have indicated our opposition to any decision to take military action on the Syrian side of the border. We think that nothing should be done to break the ceasefire lines that have already been established," Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
She added that any such action would not only increase suffering but also the number of displaced people, including some who might try to cross the border into Turkey.
Erdoğan said on Wednesday Turkey would rid Syria's Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of terrorists, confirming the targets of the operation and saying it would continue into other regions.
"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, referring to two northern Syrian cities.
Erdoğan said they would then proceed, "step by step, into other regions".
Turkey is one of several powers drawn into the war in Syria, where Russia backs the Bashar Assad regime. Turkey and Russia support rival sides in Syria’s 11-year conflict but have been closely coordinating in the country’s north. As one of Damascus’ closest allies, Russia’s role in Syria has been paramount in turning the tide of the conflict in Syria in favor of the Syrian regime. The Syrian opposition fighters were relegated to an enclave in the northwest and Turkey’s sphere of influence.
While Russia has not officially commented, it has in recent days sent fighter jets and helicopter gunships to a base close to the border with Turkey, according to Syrian opposition activists.
Russian army helicopters have been making unusually frequent flights over northern areas held by the regime or YPG over the last week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a U.K.-based organization that reports on the conflict, said.
On the ground, there has been an uptick in violence between Syrian parties to the war. But sources on both sides say they have not seen big military movements.
A Turkey-backed Syrian opposition force, the National Army, said the YPG had intensified shelling of its areas.
"We are responding from our positions and Turkish bases in the area are shelling YPG positions," Major Youssef Hammoud, its spokesperson, said.
On Wednesday, three civilians and a fighter were killed in a rocket attack on Tal Abyad, a border town seized by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies in 2019, said the Observatory.
The Observatory said the rockets were fired from areas where both YPG and regime forces operate. The opposition National Army said the YPG was responsible.
Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which has been waging an insurgency since 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Western governments, including the United States and European Union, designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.
