MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Russia thinks that military actions in northern Syria are inadmissible in the context of Turkey preparing a new military operation in that region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad on Tuesday.
"The important part is to prevent some kind of new military action and reach agreements via diplomatic channels based on those political principles that have already existed in relations between Syria and Turkey," the Russian top diplomat said.
Replying to a question about Moscow’s role as a mediator in the relations between Damascus and Ankara, Lavrov pointed out that Russia has been involved in normalizing the relations between the two countries for years as a participant of the Astana Format (Russia, Iran, Turkey). "The entire process of implementing Resolution 2254 and the process of implementing the agreements reached in the Astana Format aim to completely normalize the relations between the two neighboring countries in the context of restoring Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence," he added.
The Russian foreign minister also noted that Syria recognizes the presence of a terrorist threat in its north and is ready to be fully responsible for its sovereign territory after regaining complete control over it. "We support this position," he stressed.
Earlier, Turkey’s authorities stated that the army was ready to conduct a new operation in northern Syria. According to Ankara, the main goal of the operation is the expansion of a 30-kilometer security zone created in October 2019 after Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring.
According to Turkish media outlets, the new operation will involve about 50,000 Turkish servicemen and 5,000 militants of Syria’s armed opposition supported by Ankara. It will help Turkey establish control over a 600-kilometer sector of the border with Syria and minimize terror threats coming from the adjacent territory. According to Ankara, the main threats to its national security are the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syria’s so-called National Defense Forces (NDF) which Turkey deems to be an offshoot of the PKK.