Moscow says Turkey continues assisting terrorists getting into Syria

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russia will support a motion in favor of raising in the UN Security Council the question of Ankara’s provocative actions towards Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

"Starting from February 13 Turkish artillery, deployed in border areas, has been carrying out massive strikes against Syrian communities, recently regained from terrorists by government troops and Kurdish militias," the statement runs. "In particular, attacks were mounted against Minnigh airbase, the villages of Mariamein, Ain Dakhma, Maranaz, Inab and Deir Jimal, in Aleppo province and also positions of the Syrian army in Latakia province.

"There were heavy civilian casualties and infrastructures and homes were ruined," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Alongside this, according to the arriving reports the Turkish side keeps conniving with the illegal penetration into Syrian territory of more groups of armed jihadists and mercenaries that reinforce the battle-ravaged forces of Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (terrorist groups outlawed in Russia) and other terrorist organizations," the statement runs. "Injured militants and scattered groups go the other way across the border into Turkey for recreation and reformatting."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has dispatched messages to the UN Secretary-General and the UN Security Council President with demands for putting an end to continuing armed provocations by Ankara, for making Turkey and other countries that sponsor terrorism to comply with the anti-terrorist resolutions, and for immediately putting an end to material and financial support for the terrorists," the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled. "The Syrian government reserves the right to take retaliatory measures in response to Turkey’s aggressive moves."

"Moscow expresses the most serious concern over the Turkish authorities’ aggressive actions towards the neighboring state," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. We see this as overt support for international terrorism and violation of the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security council and the obligations Turkey assumed as a member-country of the International Syrian Support Group in Vienna, New York and Munich, the statement says.

"Russia will support a motion for putting the issue on the UN Security Council’s agenda. The Security Council should express its clear opinion of Ankara’s provocative polices, posting a threat to peace and stability in the region of the Middle East and outside it."